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Legal Responses to Football ‘Hooliganism’ in Europe—Introduction

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Legal Responses to Football Hooliganism in Europe

Part of the book series: ASSER International Sports Law Series ((ASSER))

Abstract

In this introduction, the authors explain the subject and the motivations behind this collection. They explain the methodology used, the rationale for the jurisdictions chosen and the value of this contribution to the existing literature on the subject of football crowd regulation and management. They consider the transnational responses to football-related disorder: for example, the European Convention in Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events, and in Particular Football Matches 1985, and the relevant legislative instruments as well as the role of the European Union in the regulation of football-related disorder. The authors explain how the legal regulation of football-related disorder relates to civil rights/liberties and human rights law. Finally, the authors explain the difficulties attached to the use of the term ‘football hooliganism’.

At the time this chapter was written, Peter Coenen (deceased) was Assistant Professor of Law at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Dr. Geoff Pearson is Senior Lecturer in Criminal Law at the University of Manchester’s Law School. Dr. Anastassia Tsoukala is tenured Associate Professor at the University of Paris XI.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    International examples include widespread disorder during WC 1998 in Marseilles, in Charleroi at Euro 2000, and Warsaw at Euro 2012 between Russian and Polish fans. Club level examples include a Champions League match between AS Roma and Manchester United in 2007 and a Europa League match between Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague in 2014.

  2. 2.

    E.g. the deaths of Michalis Filopoulos in Athens (2007), police officer Filippo Raciti in Catania (2007), Dejan D. in Novi Sad (2008), Brice Taton in Belgrade (2009), Yann L. in Paris (2010), a 43 year old fan of Djurgardens in Sweden (2014) and Kostas Katsoulis in Crete (2014).

  3. 3.

    Armstrong and Hobbs 1994; Greenfield and Osborn 1996; James and Pearson 2006; Pearson 1999, 2005; Stott and Pearson 2007; Tsoukala 2002, 2009a.

  4. 4.

    Dunning et al. 1988, p. 165; Stott and Pearson 2007, p. 13.

  5. 5.

    Pearson 1998.

  6. 6.

    E.g. Bodin 1999; De Biasi 1998; Pilz 1996; Spaaij 2006.

  7. 7.

    Pearson 1998.

  8. 8.

    Salter 1985.

  9. 9.

    Redhead 1993, p. 3.

  10. 10.

    Pearson 2012, p. 186.

  11. 11.

    Zweigert and Kötz 1998, p. 2.

  12. 12.

    Ibid., p. 4.

  13. 13.

    Ibid., p. 5.

  14. 14.

    Palmer 2005, p. 263.

  15. 15.

    Ibid.

  16. 16.

    Ibid.

  17. 17.

    Zweigert and Kötz 1998, p. 15.

  18. 18.

    Heringa and Kiiver 2012, p. 1.

  19. 19.

    Zweigert and Kötz 1998, p. 24.

  20. 20.

    Ibid., p. 33.

  21. 21.

    Ibid., p. 34.

  22. 22.

    Ibid.

  23. 23.

    Ibid., p. 41.

  24. 24.

    Ibid.

  25. 25.

    Heringa and Kiiver 2012, p. 2.

  26. 26.

    Zweigert and Kötz 1998, p. 43.

  27. 27.

    Ibid.

  28. 28.

    Including the football tournament at the Athens Olympic Games 2004.

  29. 29.

    Council of Europe, The Council of Europe in Brief, Our Objectives. http://www.coe.int/aboutCoe/index.asp?page=nosObjectifs&l=en. Accessed 23 October 2014.

  30. 30.

    Council of Europe, European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in particular at Football Matches CETS No. 120. http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=120&CM=8&DF=26/03/2013&CL=ENG. Accessed 23 October 2014.

  31. 31.

    Council of Europe, For a Safe and Tolerant Sport. http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/sport/Source/T-RV/livret_violence_en.pdf. Accessed 23 October 2014.

  32. 32.

    Tsoukala 2009b, p. 3.

  33. 33.

    Ibid.

  34. 34.

    Ibid.

  35. 35.

    Ibid.

  36. 36.

    Resolution of the European Parliament on the tragedy at the Heysel stadium in Brussels, 13 June 1985;.Resolution of the European Parliament on the violence at the football match in Brussels on 29 May 1985, 13 June 1985; Council Recommendation on guidelines for preventing and restraining disorder connected with football matches, 3 May 1996; Resolution of the European Parliament on hooliganism and the free movement of football supporters, 10 June 1996; Joint Action adopted by the Council on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union with regard to cooperation on law and order and security, 26 May 1997; Council Resolution on preventing and restraining football hooliganism through the exchange of experience, exclusion from stadiums and media policy, 9 June 1997; Council Resolution concerning a handbook for international police cooperation and measures to prevent and control violence and disturbances in connection with international football matches, 21 June 1999; Council Resolution concerning a handbook with recommendations for international police cooperation and measures to prevent and control violence and disturbances in connection with football matches with an international dimension, in which at least one Member State is involved, 6 December 2001; Council Decision concerning security in connection with football matches with an international dimension, 25 April 2002; Council Resolution on the use by Member States of bans on access to venues of football matches with an international dimension, 17 November 2003; Council Resolution concerning an updated handbook with recommendations for international police cooperation and measures to prevent and control violence and disturbances in connection with football matches with an international dimension, in which at least one Member State is involved, 4 December 2006; Council Resolution concerning an updated handbook with recommendations for international police cooperation and measures to prevent and control violence and disturbances in connection with football matches with an international dimension, in which at least one Member State is involved, 3 June 2010.

  37. 37.

    Council Resolution concerning an updated handbook with recommendations for international police cooperation and measures to prevent and control violence and disturbances in connection with football matches with an international dimension, in which at least one Member State is involved, 3 June 2010.

  38. 38.

    Ibid.

  39. 39.

    Although it is fair to say that the influence of the ECtHR’s judgments also provoke critique and resistance in the Contracting Parties and that the judgments of the ECtHR are not always observed by the Contracting Parties.

  40. 40.

    Non-derogable human rights under the ECHR are the right to life contained in Article 2, the prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment contained in Article 3, the prohibition of slavery and forced labour contained in Article 4 and the prohibition of retroactive punishment contained in Article 7. These rights cannot be derogated from even in times emergency (Article 15).

  41. 41.

    Article 8.

  42. 42.

    Article 5.

  43. 43.

    Article 10.

  44. 44.

    Article 11.

  45. 45.

    Most notably Friend v. United Kingdom, App. Nos. 16072/06 & 27808/08, 24 November 2009, para 50.

  46. 46.

    Article 6.

  47. 47.

    See Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, What are Human Rights? www.ohchr.org/en/issues/pages/whatarehumanrights.aspx. Accessed 23 October 2014. See also Nickel 2008.

  48. 48.

    Pearson 2012, pp. 2–5; 24–25; 184.

  49. 49.

    Pearson 1998; Redhead 1993, p. 3.

  50. 50.

    Tsoukala 2007, p. 5.

  51. 51.

    The Leicester School refers to Professor Eric Dunning and a number of colleagues at the University of Leicester Department of Sociology who did extensive research into the sociology of sport in general and football hooliganism in particular.

  52. 52.

    Dunning et al. 2002, p. 1.

  53. 53.

    Ibid.

  54. 54.

    Ibid., p. 2; Pearson 1998.

  55. 55.

    Stott and Pearson 2007, p. 48.

  56. 56.

    Salter 1986.

  57. 57.

    Spaaij 2005, p. 1.

  58. 58.

    Dunning et al. 1988, p. 7. See also MacKay 1986.

  59. 59.

    Pearson 1983, p. 64; Vamplew 1979.

  60. 60.

    Armstrong 1998; Redhead 2010.

  61. 61.

    Stott and Pearson 2007.

  62. 62.

    Stott et al. 2001; Stott and Pearson 2007; Stott et al. 2012.

  63. 63.

    Brown 1993; Giulianotti 1991; King 2000; Millward 2009; Pearson 2012.

  64. 64.

    Spaaij 2005.

  65. 65.

    Ibid.

  66. 66.

    Ibid.

  67. 67.

    Ibid.

  68. 68.

    Ibid., p. 3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Geoff Pearson

  2. University of Paris XI, Orsay, France

    Anastassia Tsoukala

Authors
  1. Peter T. M. Coenen
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  2. Geoff Pearson
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  3. Anastassia Tsoukala
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Correspondence to Geoff Pearson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sport Sciences, University of Paris 11, Orsay, France

    Anastassia Tsoukala

  2. Law School, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

    Geoff Pearson

  3. Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Peter T.M. Coenen

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Coenen, P.T.M., Pearson, G., Tsoukala, A. (2016). Legal Responses to Football ‘Hooliganism’ in Europe—Introduction. In: Tsoukala, A., Pearson, G., Coenen, P. (eds) Legal Responses to Football Hooliganism in Europe. ASSER International Sports Law Series. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-108-1_1

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