English media representation of football-related disorder: 'Brutal, short-hand and simplifying'?

Sport in Society

Volumn 8, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 27-47

  Poulton, Emma ^a  

^a DURHAM UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 32044455758     PISSN: 17430437     EISSN: 17430445     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/1743043052000316605     Document Type: Article

References (151)

1. For example: P. Marsh, Aggro: The Illusion of Violence (London: J.M. Dent, 1978);
2. J. Clarke, 'Football and Working Class Fans: Tradition and Change', in R. Ingham (ed.), Football Hooliganism: The Wider Context (London: Inter-Action Imprint, 1978), pp.37-60;
3. E. Dunning, P. Murphy and J. Williams, The Roots of Football Hooliganism: An Historical and Sociological Study (London: Routledge & Keegan Paul, 1988);
4. G. Armstrong and R. Harris, 'Football Hooligans: Theory and Evidence', Sociological Review, 39, 3 (1991), 427-58;
5. G. Armstrong and R. Giulianotti, Fear and Loathing in World Football (Oxford: Berg, 2001).
6. S. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism in the Press', in R. Ingham (ed.), Football Hooliganism: The Wider Context (London: Inter-Action Imprint, 1978), p.15.
7. Dunning, Murphy and Williams, The Roots of Football Hooliganism.
8. R. Adams, 'Soccer Hooliganism and the Mass Media: Fictions and Reality', Youth and Society, 30 (1978), 13-16;
9. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism in the Press';
10. G. Whannel, 'Football Crowd Behaviour and the Press', Media, Culture and Society, 1, 2 (1979), 327-42;
11. P. Murphy, E. Dunning and J. Williams, 'Soccer Crowd Disorder and the Press: Processes of Amplification and De-amplification in Historical Perspective', Theory, Culture and Society, 5 (1988), 645-93.
12. For example, J. Garland and M. Rowe, 'War Minus the Shooting? Jingoism, the English Press and Euro 96', Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 23,1 (1999), 80-95;
13. G. Armstrong, 'Kicking Off with the Wannabe Warriors', in M. Perryman (ed.), The Ingerland Factor: Home Truths from Football (Edinburgh: Mainstream, 1999), pp.45-58;
14. E. Poulton, 'Tears, Tantrums and Tattoos: Framing the Hooligans', in M. Perryman (ed.), Hooligan Wars: Causes and Effects of Football Violence (Edinburgh: Mainstream, 2001), pp.122-38;
15. E. Poulton, 'On the Press Pack Stereotype Hunt', in M. Perryman (ed.), Going Oriental: Football After World Cup 2002, (Edinburgh: Mainstream, 2002), pp.102-23;
16. M. Weed, 'Ing-ger-land at Euro 2000: How "Handbags at 20 paces" Was Portrayed as a Full-scale Riot', International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 36, 4 (2001), 407-24;
17. T. Crabbe, '"The Public Gets What the Public Wants": England Football Fans, "Truth" Claims and Mediated Realities', International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 38, 4 (2003), 413-25.
18. See E. Poulton, 'New Fans, New Flag, New England? Changing News Values in the English Press Coverage of World Cup 2002', Football Studies, 6,1 (2003), 19-36;
19. Crabbe, '"The Public Gets What the Public Wants'".
20. Poulton, 'Tears, Tantrums and Tattoos';
21. Poulton, 'New Fans, New Flag, New England?'
22. Sunday Mirror (18 June 2000), p.6.
23. James Shayler was dubbed the 'Pig of Marseilles' by the tabloid press after his much-publicized arrest during France 98. Among those featuring the photograph of the bare-chested, handcuffed man being escorted by police officers was the Sun (16 June 1998).
24. Similarly, images of the 'Made in Stockton Pussy Hunter' (Lee Owens) giving a two-fingered salute as he was arrested were prevalent in the tabloids during Euro 2000 (e.g. the front-page of the Daily Mirror, 19 June 2000).
25. Observer (18 June 2000), p.4.
26. Armstrong, 'Kicking Off with the Wannabe Warriors', p.52.
27. Daily Telegraph (19 June 2000), p.5.
28. K. Miles, An English Fan Abroad: Euro 2000 and Beyond (Edinburgh: Rebel Inc., 2000).
29. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press', p.28.
30. S. Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics (Oxford: Blackwell, 1972).
31. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press', p.34.
32. Murphy, Dunning and Williams, 'Soccer Crowd Disorder and the Press'.
33. Garland and Rowe, 'War Minus the Shooting'.
34. D. Brimson and E. Brimson, England, My England: The Trouble With the National Team (London: Deadline Book Publishing, 1996), p.256.
35. E. Dunning, Sport Matters: Sociological Studies of Sport, Violence and Civilization (London: Routledge, 1999);
36. R. Giulianotti, Football: A Sociology of the Global Game (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999).
37. The tragedy occurred as the Heysel stadium in Brussels hosted the 1985 UEFA European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus. A group of Liverpool hooligans charged some Juventus supporters (who were not 'ultras', the Italian equivalent of English hooligans) across an inadequately segregated, under-policed terrace. As a result, a wall collapsed, leading to the death of 39 Italians.
38. Guardian (30 Sept. 1993),
39. cited in Dunning, Sport Matters, p. 132.
40. Giulianotti, Football: A Sociology of the Global Game, p.50.
41. www.ncis.co.uk/fh.asp
42. Guardian (2 April 2003), p.5;
43. Observer (30 March 2003), p.1.
44. E. Poulton, 'The English Media Coverage of England v Turkey (Euro 2004 Qualifiers)'. Paper presented at the British Council conference, 'Football, Fans, Media Representation and Disorder: Towards Euro 2004', Istanbul, Oct. 2003.
45. Garland and Rowe, 'War Minus the Shooting';
46. Poulton, 'Tears, Tantrums and Tattoos';
47. Poulton, 'On the Press Pack Stereotype';
48. Poulton, 'New Fans, New Flag, New England?'
49. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press'.
50. R. Boyle and R. Haynes, Power Play: Sport, the Media and Popular Culture (Harlow: Pearson Education, 2000);
51. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press';
52. G. Whannel, Fields in Vision: Television Sport and Cultural Transformation (London: Routledge, 1992).
53. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press', p.34.
54. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press', Ibid., p.16.
55. E. Dunning, P. Murphy, I. Waddington and A.E. Astrinakis, Fighting Fans: Football Hooliganism as a World Phenomenon (Dublin: University College Dublin Press, 2002), p.2.
56. Poulton, 'Tears, Tantrums and Tattoos'.
57. Poulton, 'Tears, Tantrums and Tattoos'. Ibid.
58. Mirror (16 June 1998), p.6.
59. Observer (18 June 2000), p.3.
60. G. Armstrong, Football Hooligans: Knowing the Score (Oxford: Berg, 1998), p.311.
61. Guardian (26 June 2000), p.32.
62. Guardian (2000) Ibid.
63. Miles, An English Fan Abroad, p.112.
64. De Standaard (24 June 2000).
65. Weed, 'Ing-ger-land at Euro 2000';
66. Crabbe, 'The Public Gets What the Public Wants'.
67. Mirror (14 June 2000).
68. Poulton, 'Tears, Tantrums and Tattoos';
69. Poulton, 'On the Press Pack Stereotype Hunt'.
70. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press', p.28.
71. Whannel, 'Football Crowd Behaviour and the Press'.
72. Mirror (20 June 2000), p.1.
73. Mirror (16 June 1998), p.4.
74. Sun (19 June 2000), p.6.
75. Sunday Mirror (18 June 2000), p.6.
76. For first-hand accounts of 'hooliganism', see: Brimson and Brimson, England, My England;
77. C. Johnson, St. George in My Heart: Confessions of an England Fan (Lockerbie: S.T. Publishing, 2000);
78. S. Cowen, Blades Business Crew (Bury: Milo Books, 2001).
79. Sunday Mirror (18 June 2000), p.5.
80. Daily Telegraph (19 June 2000), p.3.
81. Daily Telegraph (12 June 2000), p.3.
82. Sunday People (18 June 2000), p.5.
83. Paul Kelso of the Guardian confirmed that the dispatching of news reporters on 'Hooli Watch' was common practice by newspaper editors during his presentation at the British Council conference, 'Football, Fans, Media Representation and Disorder: Towards Euro 2004', Istanbul, Oct. 2003.
84. Similar accounts are cited by Crabbe, 'The Public Gets What the Public Wants'.
85. Observer (18 June 2000), p.5.
86. Testimonies of journalists offering fans bribes are chronicled in P. Davies, All Played Out: The Full Story of Italia 90 (Reading: William Heinemann Ltd, 1990).
87. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press', p.28.
88. Whannel, 'Football Crowd Behaviour and the Press', 333.
89. Armstrong, Football Hooligans: Knowing the Score, p.301.
90. Mirror (16 June 1998), p.6.
91. Armstrong and Giulianotti, Fear and Loathing in World Football;
92. Dunning, Sport Matters;
93. Dunning et al., Fighting Fans: Football Hooliganism as a World Phenomenon.
94. Sun (15 June 1998), p.1.
95. Mail on Sunday (18 June 2000), p.1.
96. Observer (18 June 2000), p.1.
97. Weed, 'Ing-ger-land at Euro 2000';
98. Crabbe, 'The Public Gets What the Public Wants'.
99. Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics.
100. BBC '9 O'clock News' (18 June 2000).
101. Sun (19 June 2000).
102. Daily Telegraph (19 June 2000).
103. Guardian (19 June 2000).
104. Weed, 'Ing-ger-land at Euro 2000', 407.
105. Independent (19 June 2000), p.3.
106. Guardian (19 June 2000), p.12.
107. Daily Telegraph (19 June 2000), p.11.
108. Sun (19 June 2000), p.6.
109. Mirror (19 June 2000), p.6.
110. Poulton, 'Tears, Tantrums and Tattoos'.
111. Sunday Telegraph (18 June 2000), p.19.
112. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press', p.34.
113. Guardian (20 June 2000), p.19.
114. Guardian (2000) Ibid.
115. L. Crolley and D. Hand, Football, Europe and the Press (London: Frank Cass, 2002);
116. J. Maguire and E. Poulton, 'European Identity Politics in Euro 96: Invented Traditions and National Habitus Codes', International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 34, 1 (1999), 17-29;
117. E. Poulton, 'Fighting Talk from the Press Corps', in M. Perryman (ed.), The Ingerland Factor: Home Truths from Football (Edinburgh: Mainstream, 1999), pp.119-35.
118. Sunday Times (23 June 1996), p.1.
119. Maguire and Poulton, 'European Identity Politics in Euro 96'.
120. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press', p.27.
121. For discussion of the polysemic nature of media texts, see G. Whannel, 'Reading the Sports Media Audience', in L.A. Wenner (ed.), Media Sport (London: Routledge, 1998), pp. 221-32.
122. While it is recognized that media texts are polysemic and that audiences/readerships can interpret them in a variety of ways, such texts are thought to sway consumers towards the 'preferred meanings' of their producers (see Whannel, 'Reading the Sports Media Audience', Media Sport, 1998, pp. 221-32. ibid.).
123. Further research into audience reception is needed, as this remains an under-researched area (Wenner, 'Reading the Sports Media Audience', Media Sport, 1998, pp. 221-32. ibid.).
124. A recent attempt to fill this gulf is the insightful qualitative study by D. McCarthy, R.L Jones and P. Potrac, 'Constructing and Interpreting Realities: The Case of the Black Soccer Player on Television', International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 38, 2 (2003), 217-38.
125. Daily Telegraph (28 June 1996), p.3.
126. For discussion of the media coverage of Euro 96, see Garland and Rowe, 'War Minus the Shooting';
127. Maguire and Poulton, 'European Identity Politics in Euro 96';
128. J. Maguire, E. Poulton and C. Possamai, 'The War of the Words? Identity Politics in Anglo-German Press Coverage of Euro 96', European Journal of Communication, 15, 1 (1999b), 61-89.
129. See Crolley and Hand, Football, Europe and the Press;
130. Garland and Rowe, 'War Minus the Shooting';
131. Maguire and Poulton, 'European Identity Politics in Euro 96'.
132. For an insightful collection of essays on 'fan culture', see A. Brown (ed.), Fanatics! Power, Identity and Fandom in Football (London: Routledge, 1998).
133. For consideration of fan cultures in a variety of different countries, see Armstrong and Giulianotti, Fear and Loathing in World Football;
134. Dunning et al., Fighting Fans: Football Hooliganism as a World Phenomenon.
135. Garland and Rowe, 'War Minus the Shooting', 93.
136. Daily Telegraph (10 June 2000), p.35.
137. Whannel, Fields in Vision.
138. Armstrong, Football Hooligans: Knowing the Score, p.310.
139. B.E. Denham, 'Building the Agenda and Adjusting the Frame: How the Dramatic Revelations of Lyle Alzado Impacted Mainstream Press Coverage of Anabolic Steroid Use', Sociology of Sport Journal, 16:1 (1999), 1-15.
140. G.E. Lang and K. Lang, The Battle for Public Opinion: The President, the Press and the Polls During Watergate (New York: Columbia University Press, 1983).
141. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press', p.36.
142. Guardian (9 Oct. 2000), p.32.
143. Garland and Rowe, 'War Minus the Shooting';
144. Dunning, Sport Matters;
145. Poulton, 'Tears, Tantrums and Tattoos'.
146. Poulton, 'Fighting Talk from the Press Corps', pp.119-35.
147. The song begins with the lyrics, 'Keep St George in my heart, keep me English' and has a chorus refrain of 'No Surrender to the IRA' [Irish Republican Army], a Catholic paramilitary group who use terrorism to campaign for a Northern Ireland devolved from Protestant British rule. As such, it is a sectarian song that representative of Unionist opposition to the Republican cause.
148. Poulton, 'New Fans, New Flag, New England?'
149. Daily Mirror (13 June 2002), p.59.
150. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press', p.23.
151. Hall, 'The Treatment of Football Hooliganism by the Press', Ibid., p.36.