ABSTRACT
The behaviour of the fans in football stadiums comprises a collective phenomenon that has received attention since the beginning of the twentieth century. The feeling of dissolution of one’s personal identity – in terms of moral control – and the creation of an emotional inertia of a collective nature produce a sensation of tacit agreement that reduces the activity of the inhibitory mechanisms and acts as a framework for legitimizing racist and xenophobic behaviours that would probably never be carried out on an individual level. Thus, there is a lessening of the moral self-control of the fans, accompanied by an emotional contagion that, at times, can lead to violent or racist behaviours.
