The Dark Heart of Eastern Europe: Applying the British Model to Football-related Violence and Racism

• Citation: Vol. 27 No. 2
• Publication year: 2013
• topic: Criminal Law

The Dark Heart of Eastern Europe: Applying the British Model to Football-Related Violence and Racism

Matthew R. Watson

THE DARK HEART OF EASTERN EUROPE: APPLYING THE BRITISH MODEL TO FOOTBALL-RELATED VIOLENCE AND RACISM

Matthew R. Watson^*

Abstract

In the summer of 2012, Poland and Ukraine co-hosted the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship. A week before kickoff, BBC's investigative journalism program, Panorama, aired a documentary highlighting pervasive violence, racism and anti-Semitism in the football stadiums in both these nations. Violent and racist hooliganism is not a new phenomenon in Europe, but the images and interviews were shocking as hundreds of thousands fans from all over Europe prepared to travel to Eastern Europe for Euro 2012.

This Article explores the history of European football hooliganism and its proliferation in Eastern Europe. The rise of media coverage after Euro 2012, heightened by instances of racial abuse and violence during the 2012-2013 season, make the issues presented in this Article all the more applicable. Using Britain's response to hooliganism as a model, this Article proposes that Poland and Ukraine adopt similar measures to curb the growing problem of violent and racist football fans. Specifically this Article argues for the adoption of: (1) travel bans and banning orders for fans convicted of football-related criminal offenses; (2) strict speech restrictions to criminalize hate speech and speech that incites violence; and (3) modern policing tactics to lessen tensions between law enforcement and football supporters and better control large crowds. By implementing these three measures, the Polish and Ukrainian governments would be better equipped to handle crowd disturbances and punish individuals convicted of football-related violence and racism.

Part I presents: (1) A brief history of hooliganism in Britain and Eastern Europe; (2) European football's current governing structure responsible for

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policing and monitoring football-related violence; (3) the relevant penal code provisions applicable to football-related violence and racism in Poland and Ukraine; and (4) the British legal framework established in response to organized and violent hooligan groups. Part II explains travel bans and banning orders for individuals convicted of football-related violence and argues for implementing bans to prevent offenders from attending and causing disorder at football matches. Part III discusses regulation of hate speech and speech intended to incite violence at football matches and argues for implementation of statutes based on Scottish legislation to fight the increase of racism and anti-Semitism at football grounds. Finally, Part IV argues for developing modern policing tactics concentrated on relieving tensions and conflict between police and supporters.

Introduction............................................................................................1057

I. Football Hooliganism: The "English Disease".......................1062

A. Governing Structure in European Football.............................. 1063

1. Football Governing Bodies ................................................ 1064
2. Governmental Entities........................................................ 1069

B. The History of British Hooliganism ......................................... 1072
C. Hooliganism in Eastern Europe ............................................... 1076
D. Criminal Codes of Poland and Ukraine................................... 1080
E. Britain's Legal Response to Hooliganism................................ 1084

II. Banning Orders and Travel Bans.............................................1086

A. British Banning Order Legislation........................................... 1086
B. Applying Bans in Poland and Ukraine..................................... 1090

III. Hate Speech and the Incitement of Violence.........................1093

A. Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act............................................... 1093
B. Football-Specific Speech Restrictions in Poland and Ukraine 1097

IV. Policing Tactics at Football Matches ...................................1100

A. Crowd Control Methods and Hooliganism .............................. 1100
B. Applying Modern Policing Tactics in Poland and Ukraine ..... 1102

Conclusion................................................................................................1104

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Introduction

I lived in Lódz and I was shocked. I remember on the main street there was ah, a sign "Jews to the gas " and the people that wrote weren't the people that really, it didn't upset me so [sic] idea that people wrote it, the idea that 1000s of people walked past that every day and let that happen was very disturbing to me.

—Jonathan Ornstein¹

In June 2012, sixteen European national football teams met in Poland and Ukraine to contest that year's UEFA European Football Championships (Euro 2012).² However, the most-discussed news story in the lead up to Euro 2012 had nothing to do with the on-field performance of teams or players; instead, the attention was on violent and racist fan behavior. A week prior to the opening match of the tournament, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a special episode of Panorama, Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate,³ exposing the epidemic problem of racist, anti-Semitic abuse by football hooligans in the two host nations, and the increase in football-related violence from this abuse. Panorama's correspondent, Chris Rogers, experienced first-hand "the dark heart" of Eastern European football and captured it for the world to see.⁴

2007, Poland and Ukraine were selected as co-hosts of Euro 2012. This was a huge coup for Eastern European football and seen as a great opportunity for Ukraine to showcase itself to the rest of Europe as European Union membership spreads east.⁵ Some within football's hierarchy viewed Euro 2012 as a test of Eastern Europe's ability to successfully host a major football

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tournament,⁶ which was especially made important after Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) awarded Russia with the hosting duties for the 2018 World Cup.⁷

From Roger's month spent in Poland and Ukraine, the footage reveals the extent of vile abuse directed at both players and fans.⁸ The derogatory chants and songs are choreographed and sung en masse by whole sections of stadiums, but more detrimental to society are the physical acts of violence shown in the documentary.

In Lódz, Poland, a city where the Nazis killed almost its entire 230,000 Jewish residents during World War II,⁹ football supporters use the word "Jew" and Jewish imagery as an insult to attack opposing teams.¹⁰ Supporters of the club LKS greeted players from their crosstown rivals, Widzew, with a not-so-subtle anti-Semitic cheer: "Anyone not jumping is a Jew. Death to the Jewish whores!"¹¹ Outside the stadium, LKS fans clashed with riot police, forcing the BBC crew to take cover as supporters started to throw explosives in the direction of the cameras.¹²

In the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, during a Ukrainian Premier League match between Arsenal Kiev and Karpaty Lviv, Arsenal fans made monkey noises every time black players touched the ball and abused a black player's family as they left the stadium.¹³ And, at a match in Kharkiv, Ukraine, nearly 2000 Metalist fans gave the Nazi salute while chanting "Seig Heil."¹⁴ That alone is

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shocking, but what really shocked former England defender Sol Campbell was the lack of any response by police or stadium stewards to the behavior of the supporters.¹⁵ Rogers interviewed Kharkiv's police colonel, Volodymyr Kovrygin, who claimed that Kharkiv and Ukraine had not had any incidences of racism at football matches and explained that the BBC cameras merely captured Metalist supporters pointing to their opponents.¹⁶

The documentary received criticism by some who thought it was sensationalist journalism and biased,¹⁷ but the footage nonetheless captures behavior that paints an ugly picture of some factions within Polish and Ukrainian football. Empirical evidence supports what the documentary showed. For instance, a 2011 study found there were 133 instances of serious hate crimes in Polish stadiums from September 2009 to March 2011.¹⁸

In the defining moment of the documentary, Rogers asked Sol Campbell whether he recommends English families travel to Poland and Ukraine for Euro 2012.¹⁹ Campbell sent a stern warning to those watching, responding: "No chance. Stay at home[;] watch it on TV. Don't even risk it, because you could end up and come back in a coffin."²⁰

The problem of racist and anti-Semitic speech leading to violence is a growing societal problem in Eastern Europe and one not merely confined to football. From September 2009 to March 2011, Ukraine had fifty-one reported incidents of race related attacks.²¹ Nevertheless, racism leading to instances of

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violence seems to disproportionately take hold within the fanatical supporter groups of football clubs.²²

Historically, there has been a symbiotic relationship between football hooligans and right-wing groups in Europe.²³ These groups go to football stadiums to find and enlist aggressive and violent young men because football hooliganism emerged as a means for fans to defend the honor and symbolic meaning of their club's name.²⁴ Linking up with extremist groups gives football hooligans another outlet for their violent tendencies and a chance to blow off steam.²⁵ Most teams in Eastern Europe already have a hardcore set of supporters, called "ultras," who create noise and an intimidating atmosphere inside the stadiums.²⁶ Some "ultra" groups adopt radical ideologies, like ultra-nationalism, neo-Nazism, and fascism, which further blurs the lines between football hooligans and extremist groups.²⁷

This Article proposes that the Polish and Ukrainian...