Concept in Definition ABC

Hooling is an English word that in recent years has been incorporated into Spanish. A hooligan is a normally young individual who causes disturbances in the streets and who frequently carries out fights and vandalism.

The term hooligan is commonly used in relation to football fans in Great Britain, who before, during and after some football matches have violent attitudes. However, there is no think that the hooligan is exclusive to British football, since this type of behavior is common in Argentine, Spanish, Italian or Dutch football, among other nationalities.

Hooligans main traits

The hooligan does not act alone but is part of a collective, a group of followers organized as if they were a band. These groups have their own symbols, a ideology usually extremist and radical and support their team with a spirit contrary to Fair Play.

Normally the hooligans of a team tend to seek a fight with the hooligans of the rival team and for this reason You could say that these gangs act as if they were on a battlefield.

The consequences of hooliganism

These followers have starred in all kinds of violent incidents: fights, destruction of public furniture and there have even been cases of murders.

To combat this scourge, some clubs have banned these fans from entering the stadiums, as they have been declared persona non gratas.

To stop the rise of hooligans, the authorities of the different countries have adopted a series of measures: greater control over the entry of stadiums to detect extremist weapons or symbols, police devices in the vicinity of stadiums to prevent clashes and the installation surveillance cameras in stadiums to detect violent actions.

Soccer and violence

While football is a sport noble, unfortunately it is associated with violent phenomena. There are several causes that can explain the pairing soccer-violence. On the one hand, some individuals with social problems need to form alliances with others to create a identity own and in this sense football has become an escape route for some minority sectors of society.

On the other hand, the heads of some football teams have sometimes favored this type of organizations and they have not adequately assessed the possible consequences.

Photos: iStock - Kontrec / Milorad Zaric