Ah, soccer. No other sport in the world that can be so beautiful on the field while fans get so ridiculously ugly only a few stadium rows up. And yet, it’s always been this way. The most beautiful sport is often times the most atrociously ugly, with fans doing things that go beyond the simple definition of stupid. We’re talking “ice cream glove” stupidity:
Still, stupid though it may be, soccer hooliganism is a global trend. Read on for our list of the nations whose fans have the most checkered reputation, but before you do, take 30 seconds to complete our World Cup questionnaire for a chance to win $500 and check out our complete World Cup 2014 preview for a breakdown of all the on-field action.
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Top 5 Countries with the Worst History of Hooliganism
Before getting into the meat of this list, it’s important to note a couple things: the incidents mentioned below are the work of small groups of stupid people, making poor, often impaired decisions. While we include them here by nation for ease of reference, it might be more accurate to group them in categories like “dumb people in London” or “some daft people with soccer tickets in Argentina,” or simply “hooligans.”
With that said, let’s get into it.
5. Scotland
Scotland didn’t qualify for the World Cup, but like the English, Scots have been playing soccer since at least the 1800s. That’s a long time to create a bubbling cauldron of jaded soccer fans who have nothing better to do than to put a beat down on a rival teams soccer fans.
There are 51 hooligan firms, or gangs, that exist in Scotland today. Infrastructure like that is what makes it possible for moments like the famous 1977 Wembley Pitch Invasion. After their national side won a “friendly” against rival England in the iconic English stadium, Scottish fans rushed the pitch, knocked down both goals, cut off the nets, and cut out pieces of the field.
Germany has a rich tradition of using soccer in order to act like idiots and riot. Some of that history is linked to Neo-Nazism and racism, but some of it is not.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]What the German soccer hooligans really react to is losing and being told that they have to do something. In 1998, the German police contacted more than 2,000 soccer hooligans and told them that they’d be arrested if they traveled to France for a few World Cup matches. That didn’t work out very well. The hooligans almost killed a French policeman. In 2007, even after Germany created a task force specifically to deal with soccer hooligans, about 800 of them attacked 300 policemen after a soccer match.
3. Brazil
Soccer hooliganism in Brazil is very different than what you’re going to find in Europe. In a lot of ways, it’s worse.
Brazilian soccer hooligans have traditionally had ties to organized crime and other soccer hooligan firms, meaning acts of violence around games can get really ugly…organized ugly. Hooligan firms are actively supported by some local clubs, given free tickets in return for political clout, and all manner of wrongdoing can result. It’s a whole different ball game.
In 2013 alone, 30 people were killed in football-related incidents in Brazil. Going into the World Cup in their country, Brazilian behaviour will be one of the major storylines of this tournament after riots touched off when the nation hosted the Confederation Cup in 2012.
2. England
It may not get as publicized as much as it used to, but England still has the worst tradition of hooliganism on the planet. Germany might have the most dangerous soccer hooligan firms, but England’s got the most. England’s club teams have a total of 58 firms. That’s 58 groups of idiots who just want to start shit.
English fans haven’t responded well in major moments in the past. In 1995, English and Irish soccer hooligans met, and the game had to be disbanded:
It’s hard work to top England on a list like this, but Agentina has managed it. 650 Argentinian soccer hooligans have reportedly banded together to attack English fans in Brazil. Now, some of the members from the English firms have to respond, don’t they?
Argentina soccer fans can’t stand English soccer fans.
Maybe it was Alf Ramsey calling Argentinian players “animals” after a match in 1966. It could be because Argentina, as a nation, refuses to believe that the “Hand of God” didn’t lead Maradonna to punch the soccer ball into England’s goal in 1998. Or the hatred could be due to the nations having recently gone to war.
Whatever the case may be, the crazies of Argentina will be gunning for the English.
Technical note: no word yet on whether or not the Argentina soccer hooligans have hired John Leguizamo to dress up like his Clown character in Spawn to lead them against the English soccer fans.
Now that you’ve got the skinny on which country will produce the absolute worst fans for World Cup 2014 in Brazil, make sure you create a betting account to get into all the World Cup action and check out our complete World Cup news section for more on every game, team, and group.
