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Revision as of 17:09, 5 October 2007
Introduction
Football hooliganism is a decades-old phenomenon in Poland, and according to some sources, current range of the problem would match the extent of hooliganism in England in the early 1980s [1]. It has been established beyond doubt that hooliganism is a serious problem in Poland, comparable in its scale to such countries as Turkey and Hungary [2]. Football firms in Poland are numerous and their members are regarded as very violent, not hesitating to use a knife against those who wear “wrong” club colors [3]. Even though the authorities try to curb the hooligans, so far they have not been very successful.
History of Polish Hooliganism
First Years
Football is a sport associated with immense emotions. First reports of clashed during games date back to the interbellum period, for example after the June 2, 1935 0-0 game between Cracovia Krakow and Ruch Chorzow, police forces had to “intervene and surround the field” [4].
On June 15, 1936, Przeglad Sportowy daily published an appeal by management of Slask Swietochlowice, which asked home fans to “control their behavior and maintain order”, which was another proof that back then, fans were far from being tame [5].
During World War Two, German occupiers banned all sports, however, illegal games were carried out on regular basis. During one of these matches in Krakow on October 17, 1943, supporters of Cracovia Krakow and Wisla Krakow interrupted the game and started a fight which spread on the streets of Krakow’s district of Ludwinow and lasted for several hours [6].
However, even though incidents in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s were quite numerous, there was no organized hooligan movement in Poland in those years. All disturbances were created by unorganized crowds acting on an impulse, which after matches would disperse.
1970-1980
According to Roman Zielinski, author of several books about Polish hooligans, who himself was for years involved in this phenomenon, in 1974 there were organized supporters of at least a few clubs. He mentions such groups as Arka Gdynia, Lechia Gdansk, Legia Warszawa, Lech Poznan, LKS Lodz, Slask Wroclaw and Polonia Bytom [7]. Nevertheless, fans of these teams should not be regarded hooligans. They were chanting, wearing scarves and waving flags, but fighting (even though sometimes present) was not key part of their activities.
As number of “szalikowcy” (“scarvers”, this is the common name for Polish football fans) was rising year by year, Polish Football Association tried to curb these groups. A renowned referee and journalist Grzegorz Aleksandrowicz initiated the so-called “Fans’ Clubs”, but this idea disappeared at the beginning of the 1980s, due to two reasons: Martial law in Poland [8] and Aleksandrowicz’s death.
First groups
It is impossible to establish where Polish “scarvers” appeared. According to fans of LKS Lodz, they were the first, at the beginning of the 1970s [9]. They claim that a group of students, dressed in white-red scarves (these are LKS’s hues), began to gather in one section in the stands, chanting songs and waving flags. The group grew quickly, after some time its members began going to away games. Then, other clubs jumped on the bandwagon.
First alliances
In mid-1970s first friendships between various groups were initiated. Some of them broke in the course of time, some exist until today [10]. Probably the oldest still active alliance is the one between fans of Slask Wroclaw and Lechia Gdansk, it dates back to 1977, also other friendships, such as Legia Warszawa - Zaglebie Sosnowiec or Polonia Warszawa - Cracovia Krakow are almost 30 years old. Usually, alliances were (and still are) created by firms of clubs that are located within a considerable distance from each other. Firms of neighboring clubs, especially in the same city, are in most cases enemies.
1980-2000
The 1980s started in a dramatic way. On May 9, 1980 in Czestochowa a final game of the Cup of Poland took place, in which Legia Warszawa faced Lech Poznan. The game is still remembered by many as one of the biggest clashes between two Polish most important firms. Fights, in which thousands of fans were involved, started before the game, in the streets of the city. Communist government of Poland concealed all facts about this incident, however there were hundreds of injuried and at least one fatality. Since that game, fans of both involved sides have been regarding each other as enemies [11].
Generally, 1980s were times of increasing hostility on Polish stadiums [12]. In 1981 shocked viewers, watching the Widzew Lodz - Legia Warszawa game, transmitted live on Polish TV, saw the pitch invaded by hordes of fans from Warsaw. This time the government was unable to cover the incident.
According to Przemyslaw Piotrowski from Jagiellonian University, number of incidents during games grew by leaps and bounds in the 1980s. Between 1984-1988, 99 cases of disorder were reported, most of them in big cities [13]. However, the problem also spread to smaller towns and lower leagues. Now, hooligan groups are also active in such places as Lezajsk, Debica, Kedzierzyn-Kozle or Suwalki.
Since early 1990s, football hooligans were heavily influenced by skinheads. Also, firms were better organized, with regular members, who, like their English counterparts, would dress in hooded sweatshirts and Lonsdale T-shirts. Brutality was escalating, on May 31, 1993, an infamous World Cup qualifier Poland - England took place in Chorzow. The match was marred by the behavior of the hooligans, who fought each other before, during and after the match [3]. Before the match, skinheads from Cracovia Krakow, stabbed a fan of Pogon Szczecin.
In the 1990s main alliances were created. “Triada” consists of firms of ,Arka Gdynia, Cracovia Krakow and Lech Poznan. Another group was created by hooligans of Lechia Gdansk, Slask Wroclaw and Wisla Krakow. Third one is centered around fans of Legia Warszawa and it consists of firms from Pogon Szczecin and Zaglebie Sosnowiec (even though the latter two are not officially allied). In the 2000s, another large group joined these, it is made by fans of Ruch Chorzow and Widzew Lodz.
2000 until today
Even though Polish government, together with the PZPN try to erase hooliganism, incidents are still common on Polish stadiums. However, like hooligans in Western Europe, Polish firms are now involved in prearranged fights (“ustawki”), organized mainly in the forests. Nevertheless, football violence is still present even in the centers of the cities [14].
Before World Cup 2006, German authorities and European mass-media were afraid that Polish hooligans would try to mar the tournament [15], but no major incidents were reported, apart from some smaller clashes [16].
Major Firms
Among most important hooligan firms in Poland there are: Psychofans (Ruch Chorzow), Mlode Or∏y (Lechia Gdansk), Sharks (Wisla Krakow), Jude Gang (Cracovia Krakow), Brygada Banici (Lech Poznan), Destroyers (Widzew Lodz), Fighters (Slask Wroclaw), Tedy Boys 95 (Legia Warszawa), Terror Corps (Pogon Szczecin)[17].
Biggest Clashes
In July of 2007 shocked Lithuanians were watching the Intertoto Cup game Vetra Vilnius - Legia Warszawa. The match was abandoned after Legia’s fans stormed the field and started to hurl various objects at the police officers [18]. Also, basically all derby games in Krakow end up with smaller or bigger clashes both in the stands and on the streets [19].
External Links
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ a b [3] Cite error: The named reference "”Poland”" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Description of the game
- ^ A newspaper article with the appeal
- ^ Description of this event on Cracovia’s web page
- ^ [4]
- ^ History of supporters of Zawisza Bydgoszcz
- ^ [5]
- ^ List of allies and enemies of Polish football firms
- ^ Press description of the game
- ^ [6]
- ^ [7]
- ^ [8]
- ^ [9]
- ^ [10]
- ^ [11]
- ^ [12]
- ^ [13]