Football Violence is not Linked with Violent Behavior at Other Places.
The Football World Cup 2018 has started in Russia, and violent behavior of the fans poses a serious threat to security agencies. According to a research conducted by Oxford University, the events of violence during sports events are separate events, and it is not necessary for the involved people to have a criminal or violent background.
Earlier, all other research pointed out that all people linked with such sports hooliganism had a history of violence at the workplace, school or within the family.
The researchers pointed out that violent behavior of these people is directly linked with their desire for social bonding. It is very natural for people to protect their family, group or team members, but sometimes these natural instincts put them on the path of violence.
The feeling to defend their teams and other fans trigger violent tendencies that are otherwise in a dormant state; these social disorders encourage people to get involved in violent activities not only during sports events but even at other public demonstrations.
For the research, the team members studied the profiles of 465 Brazilian fans with a known history of violence during football matches, to their surprise, they found that most members of the fan groups never showed any violent behavior outside football events.
In their normal lives, most of them were calm and law-abiding citizens, without any recorded history of violence with local law agencies.
“Our study shows that hooliganism is not a random behavior. Members of hooligan groups are not necessarily dysfunctional people outside of the football community; violent behavior is almost entirely focused on those regarded as a threat – usually rival fans or sometimes the police. Lead author and Postdoctoral researcher at Oxford’s Centre for Anthropology and Mind, Dr. Martha Newson, said.
“Being in a super fan group of people who care passionately about football instantly ups the ante and is a factor in football violence. Not only because these fans tend to be more committed to their group, but because they tend to experience the most threatening environments, e.g. the target of rival abuse, so are even more likely to be ‘on guard’ and battle ready.”
The research team members also pointed out that use of extreme policing or using tear gas and water cannons, can, in fact, trigger more violence. When even ordinary people find that their peers are being threatened or are in harm’s way, they may try to defend them by all means possible.
The team members also added that such behavior is not only limited to the Brazilian fans, it is also applicable to all religious and political groups worldwide.
