Let’s Talk Hooligans

The English have had to live down a reputation for soccer thuggery, and they’re pressing home recent gains with a campaign called Alltogethernow 2006, which organizers say aims to show the world that English lads can leave their brickbats and hobnail boots at home.

In February, a group of English stars, led by David Beckham — metrosexuals aren’t into going the knuckle; they’d rather talk it through — launched the campaign, which echoes a successful one at the 2004 UEFA European Championship in Portugal.

The Cup expects 40,000 English fans, and Alltogethernow 2006 will encourage them to promote a carnival-like atmosphere with road shows, competitions, tourism, media conferences, charity football tournaments, and other hoopla.

German ambassador to England, Wolfgang Ischinger, has enlisted Monty Python alum John Cleese as a goodwill ambassador, thanks to his portrayal of hotelier bigot-light Basil Fawlty in the 1970s BBC comedy series Fawlty Towers. Go figure!

FIFA has made its slogan “A time to make friends,” and German government agencies are mounting a nationwide hospitality push.

What if the visitors — and locals, for that matter — are inclined to misbehave? Britain, Poland, France, and the Netherlands, all bastions of football tomfoolery-cum-brutality, are sending squadrons of police to the event. So are several other European countries. The bobbies, gendarmes, and other coppers, wearing their own uniforms but commanded by German polizei, will bust ’em, book ’em, and only slowly bail ’em, according to German officials. Some British police will have the power to arrest hooligans. And four German hooliganism experts will travel to England to help police there to prevent thugs from traveling to the Cup.

The German transport ministry has announced that no planes may fly within 3.4 miles, or 5.4 kilometers, of any Cup stadium during play, from three hours before game start until three hours after. NATO is providing AWACS surveillance planes to bolster security. Germany is mobilizing 2,000 soldiers, including biological-warfare units. Another 5,000 troops are on call. Tanks may be deployed outside stadiums. Nobody yell “Shoot!”

Gambling ScandalFIFA is taking very seriously the danger of gamblers influencing the Cup. The NYT reports that, due to gambling scandals in various football hotbeds, FIFA is requiring all players, referees, and coaches to pledge that they will gamble on no Cup games, and that their families won't, either. FIFA has even formed the company, Early Warning System, to detect any possible irregularities.

See, the European Community really works!

But not so fast. In fact, during the Cup, Germany will reimpose border controls with some of its EC neighbors. One can only imagine what the security measures — video monitoring, bugging, and all the other apparatus of state surveillance — will be like.

German officials have emphasized, however, that they wish to make the Cup both highly secure and yet not a “security World Cup.” Neo-Nazis have been frequenting German football contests, and reportedly are threatening to make their presence felt at the Cup. Recently, the right-wing National Democratic Party was ordered by a Berlin court to stop publishing a World Cup planner that directed racist taunts at black German defender Patrick Owomoyela.

Among offenses that have been deemed unacceptable are racist taunts. That goes for players, as well. FIFA officials warned, at one stage, that teams detected engaging in racist taunting will be tagged three points during the group rounds, while individual offenders would be suspended. But FIFA president Sepp Blatter has come under fire for seeming to soften his stance on such measures. Racism is a crime in many European countries, and African players on several European club teams, in particular, have been subjected to ugly harassment in recent months, prompting the European Parliament to talk tough about punishments against violators. Officials have dangled threats, for example, of closing stadiums where home teams’ fans offend.

In 2004, FIFA fined the Spanish Football Association about $90,000 (chicken feed?) after Spanish fans subjected two black players to racist chants, and a coach denigrated a black opponent.

Streaking Snippet

Before you go dropping trou' in the grand fan tradition, know that it could cost streaking fans 20,000 Euros, or about $25,000 US, thanks to recent rulings in German courts.

Late in April, a Rostock appeals court upheld a claim from the German second-division club, Hansa Rostock, against three self-displaying dashers who had streaked across a match in 2003. Rostock originally was fined for its fans’ behavior, but appealed that the fans themselves were responsible. The court agreed.

A World Cup official welcomed the ruling, saying: “This sends a strong message to supporters who want to disrupt World Cup matches. If we are to be sanctioned by FIFA due to pitch invasions by supporters, the Rostock judgment can be invoked so the supporters pay the fines.”

Earlier, a German state-court judge had ruled: “The spectators enter an agreement when they arrive in a stadium that forbids them from going on to the playing field. Thus, the defendants must pay the full cost of damages for violating that agreement."
Apparently the streaking fad has not passed. It has, in fact, proved remarkably hardy. Last year, several matches of the Confederations Cup, held in Germany, were struck by the streak.

- Is someone who pays big bucks for a World Cup ticket, then gets tossed and heavily fined for streaking, a wanker or a true fan? What do you think?

Some Bad News

Among all this dreary demonstration of the inhumanity of man to fellow men, we'd hoped to be redeemed by the story of Frenchwoman Nelly Viennot, 44, who was vying to become the first-ever woman official at a World Cup. She and 78 other officials have been undergoing preparation and assessment for the job, but she recently failed a sprint test, ending her dream (and the promise of a $40,000 paycheck for one month's work).

Viennot has been officiating at the international level for over 10 years, with assignments at two Olympic Games and several European Champions League contests.

- What are your thoughts on women linespeople officiating? Are you sorry Viennot failed the test? Add your comments.

Not only are the refs blind...
For this World Cup, the organizing committee continued a practice in place at German league games: setting aside tickets for blind football fans. At each of the 64 games in the Cup, organizers have sold 10 tickets that permit blind fans to be in the stadium along with an escort, who attends for free. The blind fans will have access to commentary through headphones.