7.3.9

Spectator Behaviour

Test yourself

PROs and CONs of Spectators

The PROs and CONs of spectators at sporting events are listed below:

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PRO - atmosphere

  • Spectators will cheer their team on and encourage them vocally.
  • Atmosphere around the stadium is something that players can thrive off.
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PRO - home advantage

  • Atmosphere, where home players can thrive off the home supporters to help boost their performance, is called home field advantage.
  • Most teams have a better record at home than they do away.
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CON - intimidating environment

  • Performers may find the occasion intimidating.
  • Performers might make mistakes and lose concentration.
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CON - crowd trouble

  • When spectators become too involved in the event, crowd trouble can happen.
  • Crowd trouble in sport could lead to younger people not wanting to participate in sport.

Why Does Hooliganism Happen?

There are a number of reasons why hooliganism (violent behaviour) happens:

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Rivalries

  • Derby matches are hyped up in the press to increase sales.
  • Fans of local teams can be very passionate, which can turn to violence.
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Alcohol and drugs

  • When spectators are intoxicated, they can become aggressive very quickly over things that would not usually bother them.
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Gang culture

  • Groups of supporters participate in organised violence as part of a weekend ritual.
  • Fans feel as though they have to defend their area or team.
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Frustration

  • Sometimes hooliganism is spontaneous (spur of the moment) because people are frustrated at the performances of players or officials.
  • If the game has not gone their way, fans can become aggressive and take it out on opposition supporters or security.
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Masculinity

  • Hooliganism can be a show of masculinity (manliness).
  • Hooliganism does not always involve males though.

Combatting Hooliganism

There are a few strategies that can be used to combat hooliganism:

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Early kick-offs

  • Matches are arranged for earlier in the day so that there is less time spent in the pubs around the ground before the game.
  • Early kick-offs reduce the violence that alcohol can encourage.
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All-seater stadiums

  • Teams in the higher football leagues must have all-seater stadiums. This prevents fans within the stand moving around.
  • It also offers more control over ticketing and the attendance.
  • This can be expensive for clubs to arrange, particularly for lower league sides with less money.
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Segregation (keeping apart) of fans

  • Home and away fans are kept separate in football to prevent any clashes between fans. This is a very effective method of policing the inside of the ground.
  • However, paying for stewards and police officers can be expensive.
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Improved security

  • Stewards and police officers are better trained and better equipped to handle crowd trouble and lower any tension.
  • This is very expensive. The cost of policing (having police at) home fixtures last season was £1 million in the Premier League.
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Alcohol restrictions

  • Alcohol is banned pitch side in most football stadiums in the UK.
  • Police also make pubs close early to prevent excessive (too much) alcohol consumption.
  • Local pubs have lost income (money) because of this.
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Travel restrictions

  • Hooligans known to the police get banning orders. This means that they have to report to police stations during their team's matches.
  • It takes up a lot of the authorities’ time to identify these hooligans and manage their banning orders. This is expensive for the police force.
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Education

  • High profile role models help to make spectators behave at matches.
  • Role models are also involved in campaigns such as ‘kick racism out of football’ to prevent racism in football.

Jump to other topics

1Applied Anatomy & Physiology

2Movement Analysis

3Physical Training

4The Principles of Training

5Using Data

6Sports Psychology

7Socio-cultural Influences

8Health & Fitness

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