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Spectator Madness

In a discussion of how a nation’s sports activities are a reflection of its society, Britain’s “New Scientist” magazine observed: “Soccer permits only minimal expressions of aggressive behaviour [among the players], but this combative role seems to shift to spectators. . . . The armed guards, barbed-wire fences and escape tunnels, which are deemed necessary in some places to protect players and officials from those they have come to entertain, remind [one] of a security system more suitable for a prison.” Some of this spectator madness is chronicled by the “Encyclopædia Britannica” in recent editions of its annual “Book of the Year”:

“The story of violence surrounding soccer continued in 1975, and England seemed to be spawning the worst offenders . . . But England had no monopoly on this modern disease. In Santiago, Chile, on June 25, after no fewer than 19 players had been sent [from play] following a brawl on the field, the players could not leave the playing area for another quarter of an hour because of a hail of stones from the spectators. . . . Riots elsewhere in South America and in Italy were also reported.”—1976, p. 350.

1977: “A spin-off from the world’s warring factionalism was the recurring violence surrounding soccer. During a European championship match in Cardiff [Wales], . . . spectators hurled beer cans onto the field to show their anger at some decisions by the East German referee. . . . In Malta several brawling players were given jail sentences, and one referee in a South American game died after having been attacked by the players.”—P. 350.

1978: “Crowd problems persisted worldwide, and more and more countries were fencing in the hooligans. Barcelona, Spain, dug a moat at a cost of $150,000 to keep fans off the playing field.”—P. 394.