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| | Football Violence in Europe - Cross-Cultural Differences |
 | | Although football hooliganism in the Netherlands is said to have been heavily influenced by ‘the English Disease’, the Dutch followers of the national team appear to have adopted a more ‘Italian’, theatrical style in recent years, characterised by colourful costumes and displays, and a carnival atmosphere of singing, dancing and good-natured celebration. |
| | Supporting a football team is clearly a political gesture: Athletico Bilbao draws support from Basques and anti-fascists living in other parts of Spain, who “identify with the values represented by the club” and claim that “when Athletico play in a final, 50,000 fans are cheering in Madrid bars”. |
| | Despite the fact that national characteristics reflecting different historical, social, political and cultural traditions have affected the nature and scale of football-related violence in different European countries, there are significant cross-national similarities in the ‘stages of development’ of the problem. |
| www.sirc.org /publik/fvcross.html (9168 words) |
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