The football press in the UK isn’t very good.
We’ve established that.
One only has to watch the wildly prodigious praise heaped upon those hacks who are capable of turning out copy that would just about secure a pass grade GCSE in English.
The rest in the main, are bottom feeders who communicate in real life like people you wouldn’t want be stuck next to in a pub; their written work has that forced construction normally the reserve of policemen giving statements.
Football hooliganism has always fascinated me.
I have known a good few people over the years who were really into it.
By which I mean they were jailed for it and in some instances jailed on several occasions.
Just as video surely killed the radio star, CCTV killed the weekend offender.
Before your half-cocked bingo machine of brain decides to brand me a ‘this’ or ‘that’, by fascination I don’t mean ‘one who is a fan’, rather I blame Desmond Morris.
Specifically for his hefty tome ‘The Soccer Tribe’, for introducing me to the mystical and undeniably fascinating world of football tribalism.
It’s out of print of course, but if you can procure a copy, then do.
The Euro2016 tournament is underway and before a ball was kicked – and before one of the cheapest and most bewilderingly unsatisfying opening ceremonies ever began – it had ‘all kicked off’ in England fans were making the news.
I have no doubt that glasses and chairs were thrown, I am in no doubt that a contingent of England fans set off to France in order to behave in a chaotic manner.
My point here dear reader is that I am struggling to entirely pin the nasty outbursts in Marseille on the England fan donkey.
We live in an age where being outraged, devastated and generally wounded to the soul by the words, deeds and on occasion the very presence of others.
My question is always ‘and the provocation was what?’
Let’s draw a line for the benefit of those unable to stop pointing with their jaws dropped at photos of fans misted in CS gas hurling pints at policemen.
Provocation is something that can quite empirically be measured by degree.
If you deliberately choose not to contextualise events, then you manipulate virtually any scenario.
Returning to the fans in Marseille, it appears pretty clear to me that they were provoked.
Had the taunting French ultras been stood waiting outside my local Marks & Spencer in Harrogate, what would have ensued?
My guess is that the (mostly) sober middle class, middle aged housewives emerging through the automatic doors would have probably looked upon the yobs with distain, then have strode past them.
So is the question that drunk fans chanting obnoxiously in a foreign language actually bring it upon themselves?
Well …no and no.
But the press haven’t let this get in the way a of preprepared narrative.
We were told that chants of ‘Where are you ISIS?!’ were being made.
This was presented in the very manner that those who are continually offended, use.
I think singing ‘Where are you ISIS?!’ in one of the increasingly parts of Europe populated with religious zealots and rapists is satirically quite brilliant.
England fans drew less press when coming face to face with Sweden supporters.
The Swedes were not pelted with pints, but greeted with a round of “You’re s**t, but your birds are fit!”.
So what’s the truth, and more importantly, what’s the solution?
England fans don’t get a free pass because the Marseille ultras sought them out, however they do deserve the incidents they actively participated in to be examined in context.
Indeed, one could submit that even those amongst the Four Lions contingent with predisposition for violence would have had quite a dull day or two, had they simply been left alone.
Not just UEFA, but all the wretchedly inanimate football bodies wheel out the phrase ‘football family’, yet the duty care from all of football organisations is night on zero.
Those in charge of football do that every least that they can get away with, up until the point that it might make them look negligent.
In fact even that doesn’t worry them too much.
Just ask the relatives of those that have died building footballing stadiums in recent years *cough, cough FIFA*..
EURO2016 is undoubtedly being played out in the shadow of ISIS, but the more immediate and more boring threat is poor planning and poor reporting.
