This book provides a highly readable introduction to the phenomenon of football hooliganism, ideal for students taking courses around this subject as well as those having a professional interest in the subject, such as the police and those responsible for stadium safety and management. For anybody else wanting to learn more about one of society’s most intractable problems, this book is the place to start.

Unlike other books on this subject it is not wedded to a single theoretical perspective but is concerned rather to provide a critical overview of football hooliganism, discussing the various approaches to the subject. Three fallacies provide themes which run through the book: the notion that football hooliganism is new; that it is a uniquely football problem; and that it is predominantly an English phenomenon.

The book examines the history of football-related violence, the problems in defining the nature of football hooliganism, the data available on the extent of football hooliganism, provides a detailed review of the various theories about who hooligans are and why they behave as they do, and an analysis of policing and social policy in relation to tackling football hooliganism.