Hooliganism looms large over Euro 2000

The European season draws to a close on a note of anxiety, as ghosts from the past return to haunt the game. Events in Copenhagen over the...

The European season draws to a close on a note of anxiety, as ghosts from the past return to haunt the game. Events in Copenhagen over the past few days, and in Istanbul last month, show that hooliganism hasn’t gone away; it looms larger than ever. And that’s bad news for the organisers of Euro 2000 in the Netherlands and Belgium next month.

If a Cup final between two teams can spark off the carnage in Copenhagen, the violence level can be expected to be incrementally higher when countries are playing. As it is, most Englishmen involved in Wednesday’s riots were probably not supporters of Arsenal, the club involved in the match. Many were seen wearing England shirts, not the red or yellow of the Gunners. The reason is obvious: They were hooligans without affiliation, there to avenge the killing in Istanbul, of two Leeds United supporters before the UEFA Cup quarter-final match. So football wasn’t even on their minds.

That’s a kind of mindset the authorities will find toughest to cope with during Euro 2000. As it is, Belgium in particular comes with a list of disadvantages: Small towns, few hotels, plenty of beer (and before you laugh away this point, consider that the Copenhagen rioters had been drinking beer since the morning). The flashpoint, as this column has already noted, could be the little town of Charleroi, where England and Germany meet on June 17.

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One way out is tighter police controls. There are proposals to reimpose passport checks in the two countries during the tournament to curb the entry of known thugs. Harsher punishment for the guilty might also work; significantly, the Danish authorities’ action on the rioters was to deport them and bar them from re-entry. Big deal, they’d already done the damage and didn’t need to see the Little Mermaid anyway!

So there’s much work to be done by the Dutch and Belgian police, and little time in which to do it. There’s a lot at stake at Euro 2000, and one can only hope events off the field don’t overshadow the exploits on it.

MORE SAD NEWS: The relegation of Wimbledon from the Premiership after more than a decade of high entertainment. Wimbledon were the kind of team every league should have: Cocky, street-smart upstarts with swagger and spirit. They were the Laloo Yadavs of the Premiership, who specialised in upsetting the form-books by taking on, and beating, teams with more quality and pedigree than them. They were rough, tough and ready to fight for every inch of the turf.

The core of that team were known as the `Crazy Gang’, led, indisputably, by Vinnie Jones who became the first top-flight footballer to have a marine-style cut. Their biggest achievement was probably beating Liverpool in the final to win the FA Cup in 1988, after Ian Rush missed a penalty. Their style — pardon the word — was simple and effective: Long, high balls out to the wings or the strikers and simple knock-downs, while the midfield went about putting opponents out of their stride.

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The Premiership will be the lesser without them, and hopefully they’ll bounce back next season.

A GOOD WORD: Finally, a good word for David Ginola, a player for whom this column doesn’t have much affection. But he’s begun his off-season in the best way possible, highlighting the plight of landmine victims in Cambodia. It really is a pathetic story, and one that hasn’t got the attention it deserves (even Princess Diana only went to Bosnia), but shots of Ginola’s visit there and him playing football with landmine victims will hopefully stir some consciences somewhere. Allez, Ginola!

(Jayaditya Gupta can be contacted on e-mail at: joygupta@express2.indexp.co.in)