SPECTATORS AND SPORT
SPECTATORS AND SPORT
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this topic you should be able to:-
1] Indicate types of events which attract large crowds of spectators.
2] Indicate possible causes of crowd trouble.
3] Say what types of crowd disorder there are.
4] Say what remedies there are to crowd disorder.
5] Know the difference between social and anti-social behaviour.
6] Say what improvements to crowd safety have occurred in recent years.
SPECTATOR BEHAVIOUR
Types of events in Britain which would attract large crowds of spectators, (indoor 3,000, outdoor, 10,000)
Football League Divisions - Premier and 1, and later stages of Cups.
International Rugby Union
Top Rugby League Div. 1 games
Open Golf and Ryder Cup.
Wimbledon Tennis
Boxing - Top Title Fights
Ice Hockey - Premier League
Basketball - Top Div. 1 games
Athletics - Crystal Palace Grand Prix meetings
Cricket - Test Matches and One-Day Finals
WHICH OF THESE EVENTS HAVE SUFFERED FROM CROWD DISORDER?
FOOTBALL ------------- has suffered major problems
BOXING, CRICKET ---has experienced some trouble
OTHERS -----------------occasional minor problems
WHY DOES FOOTBALL SUFFER THE MOST TROUBLE?
Mainly because it is the major national sport. It draws the largest regular crowds, and attracts the most publicity. Newspaper sport headlines are nearly always to do with football.
There are very many possible causes of football crowd trouble, some are obvious, some are a matter of opinion. On the following page is a list of possible causes.
FOOTBALL CROWD TROUBLE ---- POSSIBLE CAUSES
1] FANATICAL SUPPORT ---Many young supporters are fanatics who find it hard to take when their team loses. They spend the whole week looking forward to their team winning, and then when they lose many of these young supporters vent their anger and frustration on virtually anything, e.g.:-
opposition supporters
shops, cars, buses, trains
police
town-centre shoppers
houses, gardens to/from ground
2] TERRITORIALISM --- Most human beings are 'territorial' just like most living things. people will protect their houses and gardens, a teenager will object to parents invading the privacy of their bedroom without permission, sunbathers on a beach or at a lido will not be pleased with someone who enters their bit of space they have claimed.
Football supporters being hostile to visiting supporters are saying "this is our territory, you don't belong here". A small group of away supporters who went and stood in the home crowd and cheered for the away team, would almost certainly come under attack.
3] TRIBALISM --- Another feature of our ape ancestry is our instinct to belong to a tribe. This instinct is 'tribalism'. Teenage gangs are evidence of this instinct, and football 'Trent Ends' are another. Gang members feel safe in large groups, and will act much more aggressively towards 'enemies' than they would if they were on their own. Just as in the ape world, each tribe wants to be the dominant one or the strongest, most feared one. Hence the football supporters slogans such as 'Forest Boot Boys Rule'.
Most supporters don't want this tribalism game to lead to violence - they will swear and taunt and wave fists, but would not act this way if they thought that a fight was the definite result of their actions. However, they quite often get caught up in the fighting and feel they have to defend themselves. This is often their defence in court!
4] FOOTBALLERS' ATTITUDES --- Football is a very physical, hard game. But this alone cannot trigger off crowd trouble, otherwise there would be even worse problems at rugby, boxing, ice-hockey and American Football. Many people suggest that the attitude and mannerisms of the players can provoke trouble in the crowd. Examples of this are on the following page.
* Confrontation or flare-ups after bad tackles
* Arguing with referee. Refusal to accept decisions which go against the player's team.
* Provocative celebrations and gestures after goals. (Compared with 'old days' when players just shook hands with the goal scorer).
* The 'Win at all cost' attitude. This probably happens because of the very high bonuses the players receive. Players have admitted to cheating; they say it's 'part of the game'. Losing can be a financial disaster.
5] HIGH WAGES OF PLAYERS --- Leading to the 'win at all costs' attitude (see above). Many people say that footballers wages are wildly out of proportion to what they do. Football is just a game but because of the massive cash rewards players compete as if their lives depended on the result. The speed of the game is now vastly increased compared to 20 years ago when wages were lower. this means games are often played at an almost frenzied level and this frenzy can often be seen to spread across the crowd. Very often the crowd will wave their fists and swear at a linesman who has flagged for offside, or at an opposition player who has fouled the home teams striker just as he was about to race clear for goal.
6] FOOTBALL IS THE VICTIM OF
A SOCIAL PROBLEM --- The gangs of hooligans who deliberately set out to cause trouble are simply using football because it happens to attract large crowds on a regular basis. If football were abolished, these gangs would cause their trouble somewhere else. People suggest that it is our 'soft' society which has led to crowd disorder - it is not the fault of football.
7] MEDIA SENSATIONALISM
('War Words') --- Football matches are very often previewed and reported as if it was a war between two armies rather than a contest of skill.
Phrases such as these are common:-
* Battle of the Giants
* Midfield General
* A team's 'Twin Strike Force'
* 'We've got to go out there and battle'
* Players referred to as 'Heroes'
* A Full-Bloodied Local Derby'
* 'The Battle for Supremacy'
The media build games up to point where crowds go to matches already in a very high state of excitement. Many supporters are then unable to control their emotions when things go wrong and their team loses.
8] POOR REFEREEING --- In a close game with only a short time left, a bad
refereeing decision (e.g. allowing an opposition goal to stand when an obvious foul has been committed) has been known to spark off crowd trouble. It has been suggested that all Football League referees should be full-time professionals. At the moment, refereeing is not much more than a spare-time hobby. Refs get paid a fee for each match they referee. (Div. 1 is about £80)
9] ORGANISED GROUPS - ANARCHISTS --- Trouble is quite often started by organised groups who use football matches to stir up public disorder. These people also can be found at political demonstrations and marches. The name given to people whose aim is to create as much violence and rebellion in society as possible is anarchists. Anarchists have also been known to try and make schoolchildren more rebellious.
10] TROUBLEMAKERS ENJOY
ATTENTION & PUBLICITY --- One of the reasons young people cause trouble
is to show off to the rest of their group (or 'tribe'). The attention that troublemaking attracts makes the other gang members take notice. Troublemaking is a way of drawing attention to yourself. If a youth is arrested, he is often seen as some kind of hero within the gang. Far from feeling ashamed, the football hooligan will be proud of his arrest, especially if his name appears in the paper. This will give him status within his group.
WHAT IS THE ANSWER TO FOOTBALL CROWD PROBLEMS?
POSSIBLE REMEDIES ARE:-
1] BANNING ALCOHOL --- This has already been done inside grounds. Some people say that pubs near the ground should not open on match days, but this is unfair on the 'locals' i.e. those who use the pub daily.
2] PAY PLAYERS LESS --- Eliminating the 'win bonus' might help to stop the' win at all costs' attitude. Winning is everything at the moment and fair play and sportsmanship and enjoyment don't seem to matter. If players were paid to play but not necessarily to win, it might make the game more relaxed, and this calmer atmosphere might spread to the crowd.
3] NEWSPAPERS AND TV --- Could try to stress the skilful aspects of the game instead of getting carried away with the 'blood and thunder' side.
4] PLAYERS AND MANAGERS --- Could help by condemning violent players. Managers should not pick 'hard men' who lack skill. Referees should always be backed - never criticised. Training sessions should concentrate on skill rather than non-stop running.
5] MORE EFFICIENT POLICING --- Policing is much more organised than it used to be (close circuit TV, towers, keeping rival fans apart, escorts to/from rail stations). Trouble inside grounds is less than it used to be, but there are still problems in town shopping areas before and after games.
6] HARSHER SENTENCING --- Convicted football hooligans usually get off fairly lightly, i.e. a fine and/or probation. Much harder penalties would deter many from causing trouble.
7] ID CARDS --- Every supporter would need one to watch a match. This is a good idea in theory. Hooligans would have their cards taken away. But it would not stop them causing trouble outside grounds. Also, it has been said that there will be massive queues at entrances because each card has to be checked.
8] BAN AWAY SUPPORTERS --- This has certainly worked at Luton where there is never any trouble. But Luton's average crowd of 8,000 means they can never be one of the top clubs. many clubs would go bankrupt without any supporters. Also, it is unfair on the genuine supporter who wants to follow his team to away matches.
9] NO PUBLICITY TO TROUBLE --- If hooligans were given no publicity, this might help cut down trouble. TV doesn't publicise crowd trouble as much as it used to. Newspapers say they have a duty to report the news.
10] MORE ALL-TICKET MATCHES --- This helps separation of rival supporters. Home fans buy tickets for home areas, and away fans for away areas. If a match is not all-ticket, away fans looking for a fight can easily get into the home areas of the ground.
TYPES OF CROWD DISORDER
* Pitch Invasions
* Throwing objects onto pitch (e.g. coins)
* Drunkenness (esp. cricket one-day finals and test matches)
* Swearing - either individual or as mass chants
* Fighting
* Disturbing players concentration (Tennis, golf snooker)
* Town centre disorder (before and after game including damaging property
WHAT CAN THE ORDINARY SPECTATOR DO TO AVOID TROUBLE?
* Don't take car to matches
* Don't drink before going to the game
* Don't drink at the game
* Don't provoke opposition supporter
* Don't use foul language
* Keep off the playing area
* Use the quieter parts of the ground where trouble is unlikely
* Leave just before the end of the event to avoid main body of crowd
WHAT IS SOCIAL AND ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR?
Social behaviour is any type of behaviour which our society accepts as normal, e.g. shouting encouragement for your team is accepted social behaviour.
Anti-social behaviour is the opposite. Behaviour which the vast majority of our society would think as abnormal (e.g. urinating in the street, stealing) is called anti-social behaviour; 'anti-social' meaning 'against society'.
Most types of crowd disorders are anti-social because they break the written or unwritten rules of our society.
POLITICAL CROWD DISORDER
Sport is sometimes used by political groups to protest about something. Protesters against South African apartheid have often used a sporting event to draw attention to themselves.
WHAT IMPROVEMENTS HAVE THERE BEEN IN RECENT YEARS?
There has been a definite improvement in football crowd problems since the Heysel Stadium Tragedy in 1985. Supporters are more efficiently separated by both fences and police, drunkenness is much less common due to the banning of alcohol inside grounds, police operations are much better organised so that troublemakers are very quickly identified and either thrown out or arrested. Many clubs now have membership schemed so that certain areas of the ground are only open to home team's membership card holders.
WHAT MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS MUST ALL PREMIER LEAGUE AND 1st DIVISION CLUBS DO TO THEIR GROUNDS BY 1994?
WHAT EVENT CAUSED THIS MAJOR CHANGE TO FOOTBALL?
IS THIS CHANGE LIKELY TO AFFECT OTHER MAJOR SPORTING VENUES AND WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL FEELINGS ON THIS MATTER? - (Answer in sentences!)
MAKE A TABLE LISTING THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THESE MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS TO SPORTING VENUES.