Aberdeen fans protest yet another early kickoff, made for television – this time, 12.45pm on a Sunday.

Photo credit: Aberdeen & Red Ultras on Flickr, via the Pitch Invasion Photo Pool

An ultra of Hungarian side Újpest, belonging to the Viola Fidelity supporters' group. October 30, 2009.

Photo credit: The ever-amazing photoreti on Flickr, via the Pitch Invasion Photo Pool.

Our series on supporter tifo displays on Pitch Invasion jumps from Northern Ireland to Sweden.

Below is a compilation of displays by supporters of AIK (Allmänna Idrottsklubben). AIK were founded in 1891, and after being one of the dominant forces in the early decades of the Swedish league, have only had sporadic success in recent years.

This hasn’t prevented a number of extremely vibrant supporters’ groups from developing in the past decades, and AIK have continued to have very strong attendance numbers. Prominent groups include the historically largest group, the Black Army, and Sol Invictus and Ultras Nord.

Our new series on Pitch Invasion moves all the way from Australia to Northern Ireland, as we look at the growing ultras culture in the IFA Premiership.

Glentoran are the current champions of the league, and their supporters’ group Legion 1882 (which references the year the club was founded) was formed just two years ago.

The new group picked up the pieces from Forza Glentoran, a previously active group, and they quickly picked up a love for pyrotechnic displays, including smokebombs and flares.

Though still a relatively small group, Legion 1882 have picked up strength fast, and save their most intense moments for the passionate games against chief rivals Linfield, as you can see below in a display at Windsor Park from October 17th.

The tessera del tifoso is the brainchild of the Osservatorio Nazionale sulle Manifestazioni Sportive (ONMS), the department of the Ministry of the Interior which is responsible for security & public order at sports events. The final proposal was approved in April 2008, and is yet to be fully implemented, but current Minister of the Interior and Lega Nord charmer Roberto Maroni is extremely enthusiastic. In fact he is endeavouring to turn what was initially supposed to be a voluntary scheme into a compulsory one, in the belief that this will effectively stamp out football violence. It is due to be imposed not only in Serie A & B but also, potentially, in the Lega Pro 1 & 2 (the old Serie C1 & C2) – where average gates rarely get above 2000.

The main idea is simple: in order to buy match tickets you will need to present your tessera del tifoso, an electronic ID card which contains all your personal details (name, date of birth address, identity document number). It is issued directly by the club, so your Milan card will allow you to buy Milan tickets only, and so on; this way there is no chance that fans of one club can buy tickets for another. To be more precise, it guarantees that away fans can’t circumvent a ban by buying “home” tickets.

Obviously fans with a banning order (DASPO, they are called in Italy) in place won’t be issued with the all important card. The equation is simple, apparently: fans subject to DASPO = violent hooligans, so football + tessera del tifoso = a peaceful paradise. The ONMS website suggests that any DASPO or “stadium-related offence” in the last five years will not be allowed into the scheme, while many other sources have suggested that ANY penal precedents will prevent the issuance of the card. In other words, convictions never expire, meaning that a ban is for life, irrespective of the actual original sentence (banning orders range from 1-5 years, most commonly). If as a hot-headed idiot aged 18 you committed a one-off stadium offence and were unlucky enough to get caught (unlucky in the sense that many people get away with all sorts of offences all the time), then you can forget about taking your kids to a match twenty years later. This may or may not be constitutional.

Apparently, the system should simplify the process of buying tickets and of entering the stadium through the creation of dedicated turnstiles, along with (potentially) the concession of privileges and/or benefits to card holders on the part of participating clubs. It’s also possible that there will be no restrictions applied to the sale of tickets for card holders (i.e. on those occasions when away tickets are not on general sale under ONMS safety measures). Indeed the head of the Lega Pro claims that the tessera “will increase overall attendance figures” since no more matches will have to be played behind closed doors, a fine example of spurious reasoning. The overall aim is apparently ‘to reward virtuous behaviour of fans’ through ‘a process of customer loyalty building through the creation of a new profile for fans, as “representatives” of their Clubs, and a reinforced sense of belonging to a “privileged community” of “official supporters”.’

There are a number of potential practical problems with the scheme: what if you are an occasional fan or if you just happen to fancy going to a game one weekend, do you have to go and apply for a card which can’t be issued til the local police approve it? What if you like to regularly go and watch more than one team? How is the scheme to be effectively administered? The idea is even more impractical at lower levels, since the expense for clubs will be not inconsiderable and the necessary infrastructure (in terms of electronic turnstiles) is often absent.

As a plan to defeat violence, the tessera del tifoso ignores the single most important feature of all contemporary hooliganism: it doesn’t take place inside the ground. Not since the 80s – and maybe even before that – has football violence in Italy taken place primarily inside stadiums. When it happens, it takes place in areas around the ground, around train stations and (above all) at motorway service stations. Stopping hooligans going into the game will do nothing to stop hooliganism for the simple fact that the game is separate from the violence – indeed some of them don’t even try to go to the game at all.

So, it’s impractical and won’t meet its purported objective. It’s also profoundly objectionable in terms of civil rights: what other group of people are collected onto a police index in order to pursue a leisure activity?  Are they going to draw up a police-approved register of people permitted to enter nightclubs? Because, you know, people go and get drunk and fight in and outside nightclubs every weekend?  It’s massively unpopular with ultras across the country and with many ordinary fans as well. Protests have been many and vigorous, and later in the month a major national ultras’ meeting is planned to demonstrate against the plan.

Above all many people are troubled about the language in which the project is couched and the supposed advantages listed above: the scheme ‘follows the logic of customer loyalty schemes’ in the words of the ONMS. It can include a Visa or Maestro feature, it can act as a points-collecting card to earn fans discounts or prizes, it in every way conceives of the fan as primarily a customer to be “fidelizzato” or incentivised to display (financial) loyalty.

This year Milan (curiously supportive as a club of this government initiative) have been running the scheme as a trial: the “Cuore Rossonero” card offers a rechargeable Maestro payment facility, earns you “Star Points” which prove how loyal you are and earn special offers, and also allows you to collect points towards rewards like a tasteful key-ring or, a black and red hand-wash dispenser. If you collect enough points you could earn discounts on tickets, a day at the training ground or even dinner with the team. And points can be collected with specially selected commercial partners, so while you are buying petrol or trainers you are saving up for an exclusive branded cup and saucer set! Be still my beating heart.

It’s pretty easy to see the potentially vast economic incentives for clubs, and equally that the system will be able to effectively penalise those which don’t chose to sign up (if, for instance, only clubs with the tessera are allowed to sell tickets to certain high-risk matches). Meanwhile Hellas fans at a service station were recently assaulted by a group of over 70 hooligans returning from watching…. yes, Milan.  Good to see the fruits of the scheme in action. It’s pretty hard not to be cynical: is this really about public order or an exercise in state control dressed up in crude commercialization? Just what football needs.

Read more from Vanda Wilcox at her blog, Spangly Princess

Photo credits: Vanda Wilcox; AS Roma Ultras

Capo, Zenit Saint Petersburg

That man (I’ve yet to hear of a female capo worldwide) is typically known in ultras circles as the capo, which is (roughly speaking) Italian for “leader”.  The use of this term can cause confusion: some say there ought to only be one ‘capo’ (the leader of the group) and then a squad of lieutenants who rotate to lead chants during games. But capo seems to have become the pervasive term in ultras culture for whoever is leading the ultras curva or section of the stadium.

Capo, Jagiellonia Bialystok

Either way, usually the Capo stands alone above hundreds or thousands. His sole goal should be to direct the entire crowd into unified support of the team. To achieve this, he must ironically draw their attention from the pitch to himself periodically: to keep supporters in line, on beat, to start a new song, to have scarves or arms raised at the same time, or to jump around as one body.

Sometimes Capos stand on expensive, custom-made stands permanently affixed to the terracing. Sometimes they have to perch on a railing, or grab hold of a fence, to raise themselves up.

Capo, Olimpia Liubliana

Capos must sometimes, especially in newer football cultures, deal with blank stares and occasionally even open hostility.  Capos can be driven to despair by the crowd’s failure to respond his exhortations. But a strong capo will manage to get every arm in front of him raised in unison, the stand seemingly his toy.

Capo, Lech Poznan

But the Capo must earn his own authority. He might do it purely on charisma and his physical presence; he might do it by singling out an individual and humiliating them as an example to all. Like a political demagogue, the Capo must find a way to spellbind the masses into obedience. His power may be based on nothing more than the look in his eyes that none dare defy.

Capo, Siófok FC - Újpest FC,

Capos most often must ignore what is going on in the game and in the stands around him, aside from certain rare situations, such as a goal or a tifo display. Sometimes a capo must stand in front of a wall of flames, and he must keep his head while all around are losing theirs.

Capo, Diósgyõri VTK

Capos can be found worldwide; whilst several continental European countries have the strongest culture of following a capo, they can be found as far afield as Indonesia — where apparently pink shorts are the apparel of choice.

Capo, Persib-Indonesia

Yet in many countries, such as England (even back in the days of standing terraces), capos are very rare indeed: songs and chants come and go on a more organic basis. Why do capos thrive in some soccer cultures and not others, where the idea itself almost seems laughable to locals?

Capo, Al Karama

What is it that makes a strong capo?  And why does a capo do what he does?  Is it driven by ego, vanity, desire for power?  Or is it a self-sacrifice — the capo misses much of the game — out of passion for the team, to drive the supporters on as one?

Capo, Bayern Munich

Photo credits: photoreti; csontfej; Romanian Ultras; silenzio; Volfid

We’ve covered Polish fans’ protests before here, but events have taken a further turn with the recent news that new legislation this summer means ultras caught lighting pyrotechnics inside a football stadium will face up to five years in prison.

How have Polish ultras groups responded?

Lech Poznań-Lechia Gdańsk, May 2009

Emphatic enough. And then there was:

Rough translation: "It's better to steal than to do choreos. The judge will be more lenient." This display, from Wisla Kraków vs. KS Górnik Zabrze in April, shows a thief, a judge and a fan lighting flare.

Ultras culture in Poland, embedded in football and inextricable from questions of class, race and politics, is worthy of a dissertation in itself, so a brief blog post can hardly get to the bottom of this.  But it’s pretty clear the battle between the authorities and supproters will only escalate as the spotlight on Poland intensifies ahead of Euro 2012.

One thing’s for sure: ultras culture will not die without a bang in Poland.

Franz Horr Stadion

Hammarby - Djurgården

Partizan - Crevena Zvezda

Olympiakos vs. Panathanaikos

Partizan FC - Crvena Zvezda

Lechia Gdańsk - Lech Poznań

Photo credits: Viviendole la Vida a Otro!; pelle_T;  photoreti;  Mr.GEMYHOoOD; lembagg

Seing Nazi symbols inside Polish stadiums always scares me. Why would anyone in Poland praise the people who, if succeeded, would gladly wipe the country and it’s people out? My first-hand experience is that this is very uncommon, although I can’t deny the problem exists.

During my five years on Wisla Krakow’s fanatic terraces, I’ve twice heard such disgraceful chants sung by a couple of isolated individuals. One is “Our role model is Rudolf Hess” and another “We have a hero — Adolf Hitler”, which sadly rhyme in Polish, making it even more grotesque. I did not hear these during games, but somewhere near the stadium. That would be it for any nazi connections. I’ve also seen a few photos in the press showing small banners with similar content, mostly during lower division games, where security is far from perfect and clubs are happy if anyone comes to the stadium at all.

Racism in general is, unfortunately, more common. Throwing bananas onto the pitch still happens occasionally — I recall a few cases during the last decade. Monkey chants also happen from time to time. These are, of course, deeply deplorable acts and need to be eradicated. The question, though, is whether racism is as wildly prevalent in Polish football as the BBC report ended up concluding, with the studio panel suggesting 20% of fans are racist.

Legia Warsaw

The central evidence related to racism in Bose’s report came from Legia Warsaw. The club’s chairman stated that 15-20% of Legia fans were racists, a remarkable figure if true. What you might not know is that Legia’s board are in deep conflict with the supporters’ association and the ultras group. Their war dates back to the Vilnius pitch invasion in 2007, which was also reported on Pitch Invasion. After this crucial game, Legia started banning fans from the stadium. Among 21 bans given directly after the disorder, only 14 were to those who took part in it. Others, as the club informed supporters, were given to people who “had been notoriously violating the stadium regulations”. These were to Legia’s ultras group “Nieznani Sprawcy” (Unknown Perps) responsible for flares and flags inside the stadium: nothing to do with racism. Some of their displays have also been shown here on Pitch Invasion previously.

This is the reason why the fans were protesting at the game shown on the report, and since they’re doing surprisingly well — managing to have most football fans nationwide on their side even some media support — it’s very convenient for the Legia chairman to paint them as racists en masse. But there was little evidence produced to support this assertion.

After the BBC report, the Polish newspaper Super Express accused Legia’s authorities of having no proof for their allegations, as did another of Poland’s biggest newspapers, Dziennik, which expressed doubts that the Legia chairman knew what he was talking about. Supporters have seen little evidence that Legia are really interested in tackling the problem.

The studio discussion after Bose’s report also blurred the issue. Scenes of chanting in the stadium, led by a capo, were portrayed as shocking. Yet this was not racist chanting. Players claim they love it when the stadium roars and almost 6,000 fans from “Żyleta” (“Razor Blade”- the terrace mentioned in the report as one not to go to) chant in unison. In the video shown, there are no Nazi/fascist/racist chants and, according to Super Express, Legia fans cannot recall last time when anything like that took place. It seems the BBC studio panel mistook a capo leading chants — something seen around the world in many leagues including MLS, but not in England — for some kind of fascist movement.

On the one hand it’s rather sad that the reporter only listened to the club chairman’s side of the story. On the other hand, it’s hard to blame him for only hearing one side. Supporters do not have much sympathy for journalists, who put them under constant attack, thus making it unsurprising the ultras did not wish to meet the BBC reporter.

The Background to Football Hooliganism

The BBC report also failed to examine the connection of racism and hooliganism in football to broader societal issues. This does not excuse any remaining racism on the terraces, but the solutions to the problem goes deeper than the panel suggested. Poland is a formerly homogeneous society undergoing a considerable change in terms of diversity. This is not a problem football can solve as easily as the panel seemed to think.

When compared to England, the BBC report failed to explore the legacy of 50 years of communism. One huge obstacle this period has left in Poland is a lack of trust for public institutions. Under the communist regime, the government was the enemy and police a tool used to smother any signs of inappropriate activities. At that time, football stadia were one of the few places with a relative freedom of speech. Football violence seemed honorable when opposed to the aggression of the police. This is still the case today. The rival fans of Cracovia and Wisla have united only a few times in history — once after the Pope’s death, for common mourning, and at other times, against the police. If there is any enemy worse than most bitter football rivals for fans, it’s the police. When a football supporter is attacked or robbed, the police are still the last institution he would turn to.

This makes addressing the issue of inappropriate behavior very hard. The police are still not gaining any respect, as even the Polish Ombudsman says that abuse of authority and unprovoked violence by police officers goes on today.

The Polish football association (PZPN) isn’t doing much better. Match delegates tend to have problems in the interpretation of symbols in some flags and banners and sometimes their decisions turn regular fans against them, not just the hardcore ones.

Laws similar to those applied by Margaret Thatcher are currently being introduced, like high fines, stadium bans and 24 hour courts for hooligans. The question is, will this really help if the whole system isn’t working right?

As the report also said, there has been improvement on the terraces over the years in any case. This week, when my fellow football fan saw the report, she told me: “Oh dear, I forgot these guys exist. The reporter was pretty lucky to find one that would prove his theory.” Nowadays, racism and nazi connections are not approved by most football fans. As the Polish sociologist and fan culture expert Jerzy Dudala said, this is more about showing off than about really knowing and understanding the meaning of certain symbols. Education is certainly needed to help eradicate all remaining racist behavior, even more than indiscriminate draconian action.

Euro 2012

As they discussed Euro 2012, I wondered why the report was mixing up league football with national teams. Poland has literally two kinds of audiences. The atmosphere at Poland’s games is hard to compare with league football. Each time a big tournament comes round, the media worldwide scare half of the globe with talk of Polish hooligans and afterwards it seems like the threat had been exaggerated in the first place. Did any violence or racism erupt at Poland – Costa Rica game during the last World Cup? There was nothing unusual, and all the media covering this event praised the atmosphere created by over 30,000 Poles.

The past few years have seen huge changes in Polish football. New stadiums are rising, standards of safety and comfort at football grounds are improving and so is the behavior of football fans. A protest of Polish ultras that might have evolved into a riot a few years back was now even backed by the media and resulted in a debate over what should and shoudn’t be allowed at football grounds. Whilst more progress need to be made, scaremongering reports with little informed opinion in them do not particularly help.

Photo credits: mbozkera and barket nowicki on Flickr