‘Hooligans’ abroad? Inter‐group dynamics, social identity and participation in collective ‘disorder’ at the 1998 World Cup Finals

TLDR

The 1998 World Cup in France saw English fans involved in major disorder incidents, while Scottish fans were noted for non‑violence, leading to explanations that focused on hooligan norms. This study argues that disorder cannot be explained solely by the presence of hooligan fans. Using ethnographic data from 121 Scottish and English supporters, the authors investigate how ordinarily peaceful fans may become involved in collective conflict. The analysis shows that under the Elaborated Social Identity Model, intergroup context determines whether peaceful supporters justify violence against out‑group members, and that the model also explains the absence of disorder when no out‑group hostility exists.

Abstract

During the 1998 Football World Cup Finals in France, English supporters were, once again, involved in major incidents of collective ‘disorder’. Explanations for these incidents concentrated on the conflictual norms held by ‘hooligans’. In contrast, Scottish supporters attending the tournament displayed norms of non‐violence, explained by the popular press in terms of the absence of ‘hooligans’. This study challenges this tendency to explain the presence or absence of ‘disorder’ in the context of football solely in terms of the presence or absence of ‘hooligan’ fans. Using data obtained from an ethnographic study of both Scottish and English supporters attending the tournament ( N = 121), we examine the processes through which ordinarily ‘peaceful’ supporters would or would not become involved in collective conflict. In line with the Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM) of crowd behaviour, the analysis highlights the role of the intergroup context. Where out‐group activity was understood as illegitimate in in‐group terms, in‐group members redefined their identity such that violent action toward out‐group members came to be understood as legitimate. By contrast, where there was no out‐group hostility, in‐group members defined themselves through an explicit contrast with the ‘hooligan’ supporters of rival teams. This analysis represents an advance on previous studies of crowd behaviour by demonstrating how the ESIM can account for not only the presence, but also the absence, of collective ‘disorder’.