When and why did football hooliganism stop?

Garage_Doors · Dec 16, 2014

Was with a workmate today going past Hove station and chatting in general and I was saying that in all my 50 + year in the town i have never had cause to use hove station and it led onto him recounting tales of being held back there on the bridge by the police back in the late 70's when on the way to the Goldstone for the footy and a punch up.
This led to the question When and why & how did football hooliganism stop?

Is there a definitive period in time when it all stopped.

spence · Dec 16, 2014

Zero tolerance,heavy custodial sentences and cctv has practically ended it. You will always have the odd skirmish but nothing like the old days.

Probably at the turn of the 2000's

BN9 BHA · Dec 16, 2014

It hasn't stopped.

beorhthelm · Dec 16, 2014

i think there's a popular theory that the summer of love '88 began the end, as lads had something else to look forward to and popping E's doesnt make fighters, then the advent of all seater and generally feeling enough was enough from both authorities and the fans in early 90's. Euro '96 made it into a family affair, wifes and girlfriends watched along down the pub and started going. probably not 100% accurate, but that 88-96 is the time period it all chaged.

Ernest · Dec 16, 2014

Depends what you mean stopped, seems to be very much an ongoing thing but it is in peoples interests not to give it media coverage anymore

Garage_Doors · Dec 16, 2014

bn9 bha said:
It hasn't stopped.

It has, as stated above you will always have the odd skirmish, middle age men still thinking there kids trying to retain their youth.
You don't get running battles like back then.

Freddie Goodwin. · Dec 16, 2014

Hillsborough & Heysa made the authorities concentrate on updating grounds & Maggies govn determined to tackle the hoolies.

Football in the early 80's was pretty sick, low crowds of mainly young men, crumbling grounds and running battles every weekend.

Some may yearn for things from the 'good old days' but football would not have survived and thrived as it has now. BUT, there's a lot in the new game for the traditional fan, nay 'customer', to despise.l

Del Fenner · Dec 16, 2014

Programme_Seller said:
It has, as stated above you will always have the odd skirmish, middle age men still thinking there kids trying to retain their youth.
You don't get running battles like back then.

*cof* Lincoln, Luton

Monkey Man · Dec 16, 2014

This doesn't exactly answer your question but it's a similar story with a number of crimes, such as vandalism. There was a time when windows were smashed and walls defaced as a routine thing but these days you don't see teenagers roaming the streets and damaging stuff in quite the same way - yes, we have the graffiti "artists" but that's not really the same thing, as they at least argue they're being creative. Maybe a few decades ago there were fewer things to occupy younger people's energies. Now everyone seems to have more choices and they're not drifting towards aggro in quite the numbers they were. Just a theory.

bn1&bn3 Albion · Dec 16, 2014

It's nothing like the "glory days" but I wouldn't say it's stopped. Those involved have just got a bit wiser about how they go about it.

El Sid · Dec 16, 2014

it all came to a sad end in the nineties when good old fashioned proppa nawtee geezers like meself got too old and lardy to run after the oppo and too slow to evade the filf
now we all sit quietly in the east upper in our replica shirts chewing wine gums muttering obscenities to ourselves and clappimg the away attendance

pastafarian · Dec 16, 2014

running amok inside the stadium may be nearly extinct in this country, but it hasnt stopped.you are just less likely to hear about it..........walls have ears etc etc etc

Captain Sensible · Dec 16, 2014

Thatcher and E's

marshy68 · Dec 17, 2014

bn9 bha said:
It hasn't stopped.

This my niece is a nurse at rsch she worked Friday ( millwall at home)night 3 stabbing and about 50 people with fighting injuries all football related she said it was a horrendous shift

Wilko · Dec 17, 2014

beorhthelm said:
i think there's a popular theory that the summer of love '88 began the end, as lads had something else to look forward to and popping E's doesnt make fighters, then the advent of all seater and generally feeling enough was enough from both authorities and the fans in early 90's. Euro '96 made it into a family affair, wifes and girlfriends watched along down the pub and started going. probably not 100% accurate, but that 88-96 is the time period it all chaged.

Was going to post the same thing. The E/rave culture of the late 80s/early 90s definitely had an impact on working class male behaviour.

Vegas Seagull · Dec 17, 2014

marshy68 said:
This my niece is a nurse at rsch she worked Friday ( millwall at home)night 3 stabbing and about 50 people with fighting injuries all football related she said it was a horrendous shift

Wow, that's slipped under the radar, where did any of it happen?

jonny.rainbow · Dec 17, 2014

Like white dog poo, it's still there, but not as obvious with all the other sh*t going on in the world.

n1 gull · Dec 17, 2014

Definitely the house music culture of late 80s and early 90s made a huge difference.
I lost interest in football during these years. Attendances were shocking.
It was also all seater stadiums, Heysel and Hillsborough.

Psychobilly freakout · Dec 17, 2014

Vegas Seagull said:
Wow, that's slipped under the radar, where did any of it happen?

Oh come on fella, the medical reports actually state

3 knife wounds due to accidents preparing corn beef sandwiches.
50 incidents head injuries due to banging heads on kitchen cupboard doors whilst making corn beef sandwiches.

Surrey_Albion · Dec 17, 2014

The e culture, cctv, banning orders and lets not forget the huge increase in money, sponsors and the media all helped end it in the early 90s, it still happens on occasion as there's still firms out there but rarely reported due to the money in football theae days and often any pre arrangedmeets are kept along way from stadiums.

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When and why did football hooliganism stop?

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