Football fans’ views of violence in British football: evidence of a sanitized and gentrified culture

This article draws on the responses of 1,500 fans from across the United Kingdom to an online survey posted from August 2013 to November 2013 regarding their experience of football violence. Reflecting the 2013 Home Office report that indicated a continued long-term decline of football fan violence in England and Wales, 89% of fans illustrate a decrease in violent behavior from the 1980s with 56% indicating this is due to better policing, 56% attributing it to improvements in stadia, 50% highlighting the deterrence provided by CCTV, and 49% ascribing it to a civilized supporter base. Overall, fans reflect on a more sanitized and gentrified culture emerging out of measures introduced since the 1990s (including changing police strategies, banning orders, alcohol bans, higher ticket prices, and CCTV).