by Sharon Norris
Amid the recent controversy surrounding on-field aggression, some good news has emerged on how best to tackle violence among football supporters.
A team of ESRC-funded researchers from Liverpool University who studied police tactics at last year's European Championships in Portugal has found that the most successful way to deal with hooliganism at large international football matches is to use 'low key' policing tactics.
The research team, led by Drs Clifford Stott and Otto Adang from the University of Liverpool's School of Psychology found that when supporters were treated as fans from the outset and not hooligans, they were much more likely to ally with the Police to root out troublemakers. Police presence overall was kept to a minimum, and the Portuguese Public Security Police's (PSP) tactic of employing no more than four uniformed officers to every 100 fans at matches where the risk of trouble was thought to be normal was shown to have been successful. A combination of uniformed and plain clothed officers was used to police matches, and while riot police were close by, they were kept from fans' view in an attempt to avoid provoking any trouble by their presence.
The findings are an endorsement of the advice given to the PSP by the Liverpool researchers before the championships took place. The fact that the two major incidents that did take place occurred in the Algarve, an area policed by the Portuguese Gendarmerie (GNP) and not the PSP, is seen to be a further sign that the researchers got it right.
...when supporters were treated as fans from the outset and not hooligans, they were much more likely to ally with the Police to root out troublemakers.
However, although the police tactics at matches were seen to have been crucial to keeping trouble at bay, another key factor in making Euro 2004 a relatively trouble-free event was the success of initiatives geared to preventing known troublemakers from travelling to the Championships. That said, some known hooligans were spotted at matches. Even so, and despite the fact that some potentially difficult situations did arise, they were dealt with promptly and effectively by the Police.
All this comes as good news in a week that sees several British teams, including Manchester United, Bolton and Rangers, involved in UEFA Championship matches, and with the World Cup only eight months away. However, with Manchester Unites striker Wayne Rooney's recent suspension for being rude to the referee during a Champions League match against the Spanish team Villareal, and Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer awaiting prosecution for an on-pitch brawl with team-mate Kieron Dyer, it seems the only problem now is how to curb players' aggression.