NCJ Number
218889
Date Published
2007
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Through an exploration of the moral panics of the 1970s, linking football to violence and public disorder, this chapter examines the transformation and displacement of football violence by the Internet.
Abstract
The role of the Internet in relation to football hooliganism or violence is multifaceted. While it does not seem that it is used as the primary means of orchestrating football hooliganism, it unquestionably provides a community for those involved with disorder and those who wish to be associated with it. If any violence does occur as a result of Internet activity, it is most certainly not often, almost certainly not provable and will be at the hands of some very dedicated individuals. Technological advances have been used to transform enforcement and security while at the same time they have been used to circumvent these means of enforcement, leading to the displacement of football violence into the virtual realm. The distinction between the real and virtual worlds in relation to football-related violence is not as clear cut as it appears at first. Technology, specifically the Internet, has been used as a means of both regulating and controlling behavior, as well as a means of circumventing that regulation and control. This chapter examines the transformation and displacement of football violence by the Internet. It considers the moral panic of the 1970s, linking football to violence and public disorder, before turning to the emergence of the Internet as a potential new means of organizing and facilitating football violence against the backdrop of an ever-increasing number of control mechanisms: controversial legislation, regulatory restrictions, modernization of football stadiums, and policing approaches. References