Violence in Spanish football: a substitute for war?

Few incidents at Jimmy's funeral
Among the mourners, former Depor President

Former Depor President at funeral (c.)

MADRID (OPINION) -- As you are probably aware, a radical football fan (such a minimal word for this article) was beaten and killed last Sunday before the Atlético de Madrid and Deportivo La Coruña match at the Vicente Calderón stadium in Madrid. The fight that led to 46-year-old Francisco Javier Romero Taboada's death was between two groups of extremists: the Frente Atlético and Riazor Blues, both of which arrived at around 8.40 in the morning, having planned the 'event' well ahead via Twitter, What's App, Twenty and Facebook, among others. There were also some 10 hurt, and at least 20 people arrested at the time, and 30 more identified. So how, or why, did this happen?

A 46 year old adolescent

To start with, and my being willing to speak ill of this dead, what was a 46 year old man, father of two, head of a family and known as Jimmy, doing at one of these things?

Yes, it happens all the time, all over the world, football no longer being a mere sport but big business and thus a substitute for war -- not that there aren't any wars about, though not for a while in Europe anyway.

The other question that comes up is: Why do clubs 'support' their ultra groups? Is it mere business? The Spanish football association recently fired Augusto César Lendoiro, former president of Deportivo de la Coruña (known as Depor) for attending Jimmy's funeral. He was the club's president for 25 years and given the honorific post of ambassador for La Liga in charge of promoting the sport abroad.

Talking of the funeral, El País reports that the coffin was draped with the flag of Galicia, and a banner for Los Suaves, the faction of the Riazor Blues group of hardcore ultra Deportivo fans to which Jimmy belonged. This smells badly of political implications.

Among the other mourners, says the newspaper, were a group who arrived by bus bearing the colors of other teams, including Madrid side Rayo Vallecano, whose radical fan group the Bukaneros was also implicated in the weekend fan battle. Incidents at the funeral included flares and smoke bombs being set off, and not much more -- probably because the police deployed five vanloads of units at the site.

Apparently relations between the Riazor Blues and the club are tense, but why are there any relations at all? There are plenty of media reports saying that tickets to the Madrid match came directly from the club to the Riazor Blues. Why?

Current Depor President, Tino Fernández, promised that members of the group would be identified and never allowed into the home ground again. "They are a stain on the name of Deportivo,? he said.

Much quicker to react was the Atlético de Madrid (a.k.a. Atleti) club, whose Frente Atlético ultra group were the 'aggressors'. It was banned from the club grounds by Tuesday.

Who are members of these ultra groups?

To define one is very difficult, says Carles Viñas, author of 'El mundo ultra. La violencia en el fútbol español'. There is apparently no way to single out any particular profile as the groups include people of all walks.

One incident Viñas records is that of May 2005, when some 20 ultras turned up at a practice at the club, interrupting the training session and insulting players and coaches alike. Many of them wore suits and ties.

The author says that motivation is usually to 'defend their territory' -- a pretty primal, animalistic motivation. He adds that much of today's problems began in the 1970s, when British football hooligans ran rampant throughout European matches, and thus acquired the reputation that still persists today despite the FA's best efforts.

The phenomenon is most evident in the big Spanish cities, which is logical given that cities contain more people willing to be part of the seedbeds of violence and terror.

Among the most significant and radical enemies of the Frente Atlético, are the Ultras Sur (Real Madrid), Los Bukaneros (Rayo Valecano), Biris (Sevilla) and, more recently, the Riazor Blues (Deportivo).

The question remains: Why?

Expert psychologists compare the ultra phenomenon with the elements that go off to join Al Qaeda, or IS. It is said that they need to fight, to beat each other up, to feel part of a peer group no matter what the consequences.

Is it all really a substitute for war? Do they honestly want to be cannon fodder? Possibly, say some. Maybe they should be... but that's just my opinion.