Hooligan threat dormant, not dead

Updated: Sunday June 30, 2002 12:47 p.m. ET

YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) -- "Perfect" is how FIFA described the behaviour of England fans at the 2002 World Cup, but it would be complacent to suggest that the threat of hooliganism at future soccer tournaments has disappeared.

In so many ways, Korea-Japan 2002 has been a unique, uplifting tournament on the field, with a series of results that went against the grain.

The good behaviour of England's followers off it was also a surprise to some, although British police were always confident troublemakers would struggle to get through a tight security net.

History shows how rare it is that tournaments involving the England team are trouble free.

At the 2000 European championship in Belgium and the Netherlands, the Belgian town of Charleroi was the scene of serious disorder.

At the last World Cup in France, England fans battled with locals in Marseille and also fought in Toulouse.

The 1992 European championship in Sweden, the 1990 World Cup in Italy and the 1988 European championship in then-West Germany were also marred by serious hooliganism involving England fans.

The list goes on. Mexico 1986 was the last occasion England supporters did not go on the rampage in a World Cup. There was also no trouble at the 1994 tournament in the United States, but England failed to qualify.

The other notable exception was the 1996 European championship, played in England.

A variety of factors, notably the absence of foreign hooligans and intelligent policing, contributed to a largely peaceful championship, although there was some disorder in towns across England after their penalty shootout defeat by Germany in the semi-finals.

Geography is crucial. In Japan, where England played all their games at this World Cup, the distance and expense involved was probably the biggest single factor in deterring troublemakers.

Distance was also an important factor in Mexico, while at Euro 96, supporters could disperse to their homes after matches, rather than returning in groups to city centre hotels or camp sites.

But at the 2004 European championship in Portugal and the next World Cup in 2006 in Germany, getting there and finding accommodation will not be difficult for fans coming from England, or anywhere else in Europe.

MOSCOW RIOTS

Experience shows it is when fans gather in large numbers and consume large amounts of alcohol that trouble can follow, and it is hard to see how the security forces can prevent them congregating in either Portugal or Germany.

Add into the mix England's traditionally fierce rivalry with German supporters and it is easy to understand, why, as one England fan put it in Japan: "In Germany it'll go pear-shaped. It'll be chaos."

The hooligan threat is not only from the England followers, with Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Poland among those countries with fans who have a tradition of trouble-making at club level.

Hooliganism has also reared its head in Russian club football and two men died in the ugly Moscow riots that followed Russia's World Cup defeat by Japan on June 9.

Turkey's success in reaching the World Cup semi-finals has established them as a major soccer force and they are already talking of Germany 2006 being like a home tournament, with the large Turkish immigrant population there.

Tension between Turks and Germans is already a feature of German society and after the fatal stabbing of two Leeds United fans in Turkey and the trouble at the Arsenal-Galatasaray UEFA Cup final in 2000, English fans also have a history with the Turks.

It is not all doom and gloom. The much-predicted thug fest at Euro 96 never materialised, while England's 5-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Germany in Munich last September also passed off peacefully.

There is also the possibility that England and several of the other countries concerned may not qualify, although that in itself is unlikely to stop hard-core hooligans travelling.

For now, football can give itself a well-deserved pat on the back after a World Cup that will be remembered the right way, as a festival of fun.

But the suspicion remains that the so-called 'English disease' of hooliganism is merely in remission.

Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.