ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a summary of 'psychological' and 'sociological' approaches to supporter violence as set out by D. L. Wann et al. A. Guttman's consideration of the ancient Grecian Olympic games discusses the 'uninhibited', 'volatile' and sometimes 'disorderly conduct' of spectators. There has already been a great deal written on the subject of supporter violence, and in particular 'football hooliganism'. The ensuing violence R. Taylor viewed as working class 'resistance' to this processes of bourgeoisification, and an attempt by these young working class men to reassert their ownership of football. Following P. Marsh, G. Armstrong and R. Giulianotti assert that the actual occurrence of violence between football supporters is relatively infrequent, and in particular 'pitched battles' between rival hooligan gangs remain 'surprisingly rare'. The policing of association football matches in Britain dates as far back as the nineteenth century. J. Bannister et al. suggest that urban spaces are often more tightly controlled and monitored than ever before.
