We are sure that human beings should remember their civility in every moment of their lives. Animal instincts are a crucial factor when it comes to surviving in the jungles or in the desert. No doubt, they are not necessary for the modern stadiums during the games. Anyway, all students know what skills are really important to them – the writing skills! If nature was not generous to you and you can’t represent your brilliant ideas in written form, EssayShark paper writing service is always here for you.
You may also be interested in other sports research paper topics to choose from.
The Ways to Reduce Fan Aggression That Is Enhanced by Media
Introduction
Sports events are usually accompanied by the aggression from the fans who come to the stadiums to support their favorite team. The disturbing issue of violence in the football match had become an essential topic for discussion for those who enjoy visiting sports event but cannot do that due to the enormous aggression. Sometimes not only parties of the violent occurrence become injured, but innocent people who came to support their sports idols. Fans start fighting due to opposite views on some particular situation which appeared during the match. These violent conflicts involve two or more strands which might even be moved to the urban areas of the city. There are several measures which must be taken by the government, media and by the football associations to reduce fan aggression on sports events.
There is fan aggression occurred during or after the football match with the tragic ending. The reason for such behaviour towards other so-called Ultras is the increased level of consumed alcohol. Beer is prohibited to take on the field of the play in some countries. However, this does not mean that people come to the game sober. People who come to the place where a massive stand of fans is concentrated feel that these human beings are enemies.
Violence as the Problem of Our Society
There are plenty of approaches for the football association representatives to reduce the aggression and prevent the fights from happening (Wann, Daniel L. et al.). The problem of violence in stadiums is not only the problem for separate people but the whole society. Families can hardly ever allow their children to visit football or other games due to circumstances which appear there.
The first method of preventing conflicts between the fans of two teams is creating a separate section for fans. In fact, some countries, such as UK, Germany, France and others have managed to implement this preventive measure. During some European games, the separate section of the stadium is dedicated for Ultras. Moreover, these segments are often guarded by the additional crew of security and obtain a high level of armed men. Since 1970s such approached has decreased the level of violence and assisted in the prevention of aggression, says the Football Association.
It is worth noting that the behavior of the football fans influences the reputation of the team directly. There are cases when fans are not allowed to come to the football plays for a certain time (Parkinson, Justin). Thus, the team lacks support from people and remains more vulnerable to the screaming of chatter of the enemy team. As a result, teams which play with no support of their teams tend to lose more than those which have their Ultras on the stadium.
Possible Ways of Reducing the Level of Aggression
In 1980, the Standard League of Belgium had managed to conduct training with fans concerning appropriate behavior on the stadiums. They have called it a fan-couching. These teaching include some ethical lessons on how important the idea to respect each other and the views on football (Handwerk, Brian). Coaches also conducted some courses on protection and how to deal with aggressive people on the plays. Later on, this approach was adopted by many countries and football association which has considerably reduced the violence of fans.
The Presence of Police
Police presence is an integral part of each football play despite its scope. The officers should stand in the places so that each person from any angle could see the guard. During international plays or some important games, the police should be armed and attentive much. It would be beneficial and useful for the policemen to have weapons or batons.
Nonetheless, there are occasions when all the preventive measure with the police did not prevent a tragic event from happening. As a result, not only fans and innocent people were injured, but the police officers as well (Handwerk, Brian). Temporary insanity is the condition when the person cannot think properly and does not understand what might be the circumstances. Therefore, police and security men should not only be inside the stadium, but the backup should stand outside the stadium to be ready for the emergency.
Alcohol Usage
Underage drinking is another problem that remains the cause of aggression of the fans. When teenagers are allowed to drink beer and other beverages on the stadium – nothing but violence can be expected (Parkinson, Justin). Therefore, local shops with snacks and alcoholic drinks should control the age of the person who buys beer. Moreover, security must watch underage people not consuming stiff drinks.
Each member of the staff, including janitors and servants, should be trained how to act in case of aggression. Employees should also watch and analyze the behavior of fans in order to inform the security about any harmful attitude of fans towards other people. When there are suspicious people detected on the field of play, the security or police officers should issue a warning to that person (Wann, Daniel L. et al.). When the person continues to behave aggressively, the security man is allowed to kick that person out or even call the police.
Pyrotechnics During a Football Match
Pyrotechnics is the most dangerous issue that occurs during any football game. Fans can easily take firecracker, salutes and other flammable tools to support the team during scores. Not only such methods remain dangerous and cause a fire, but also it can cause aggression as well an irritation from other fans on the stadium. Thus, the conflict between two parties might occur which can lead the stand to the fight.
What Else Can Be Done
Before and during the play, the football association should stream a video about the dangerous consequence of aggression on the territory of football play. They should also speak to the people and ask them not to use the pyrotechnics as well as other fire tools to prevent other people on the stadium from fear. The backside of the ticket should include a little instruction on how to behave during the football game and how to act in case of fan battle.
Particular attention should go the small groups of fans, who came to the play with friends. The stand of angry and drunk people is dramatically dangerous so the police should watch such fans with more high concern (Parkinson, Justin). Security also should issue a warning to each person who seems to be inadequate or behaves inappropriately. The more warnings are made by the police, the more chances that people will understand and improve the situation.
A list of particular policies should be established by the football association or other sports organization in order to inform all the fans about their rights and obligations. These policies should also include the information about the punishments and adverse circumstance in case of negative behavior during or after the football play.
Another approach to prevent or to reduce the level of fan aggression on the stadium is to decrease the number of spectators who can come to watch the play. Usually, a massive stadium is constructed for the specific number of people. Nonetheless, there are situations when football or hockey associations decide to sell more tickets for people to stand and support their favorite team.
On the one hand, by doing so many people obtain a chance not to miss an important game due to sold out. There are some team confrontations which occur once in a blue moon and fans are striving to watch it in real, not on pubs. On the other hand, the excessive number of people on the stadium might possess a real danger. Each person has their points of views and tries to prove his\her right in particular situation.
Conclusion
All in all, fan aggression has already become a societal problem, and there should be particular strategies implemented to reduce the violence. There is some situation when not only fans become injured by violent confrontation but innocent people and police officers as well. The most useful way to reduce the aggression is to limit the alcohol consumption and to dedicate separate sections for Ultras. The members of football or hockey associations should also implement policies which might inform all the fans about the rules on the ground. They should even tell fans that violent behaviour on the play might influence the reputation of their favourite team. When fans are warned about probably circumstances of the aggressive behaviour, they are more likely to think twice before act with range towards other people.
Works Cited
BRYAN, C., and R. HORTON. “School Athletics And Fan Aggression.” Educational Researcher, vol 5, no. 7, 1976, pp. 2-11. American Educational Research Association (AERA), doi:10.3102/0013189×005007002.
Handwerk, Brian. “Sports Riots: The Psychology Of Fan Mayhem.” News.Nationalgeographic.Com, 2005, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0620_050620_sportsriots.html.
Parkinson, Justin. “Five Ways To Stop Football Hooliganism.” BBC News, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36516017.
Van der Meij, Leander et al. “Football Fan Aggression: The Importance Of Low Basal Cortisol And A Fair Referee.” PLOS ONE, vol 10, no. 4, 2015, p. e0120103. Public Library Of Science (Plos), doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0120103.
Wann, Daniel L. et al. “SPORT FAN AGGRESSION AND ANONYMITY: THE IMPORTANCE OF TEAM IDENTIFICATION.” Social Behavior And Personality: An International Journal, vol 27, no. 6, 1999, pp. 597-602. Scientific Journal Publishers Ltd, doi:10.2224/sbp.1999.27.6.597.
