By Happypal 
The images were hauntingly familiar: fans pressed against metal barriers, riot police advancing with disproportionate force, the bewildered faces of people who traveled hundreds of miles to support their team only to find themselves treated like combatants in a war they never enlisted in. As Newcastle United supporters became the latest to experience French policing methods in Marseille, something felt disturbingly cyclical about the entire ordeal. This wasn’t just another isolated incident of crowd trouble—it was what one human rights observer called “groundhog day policing“—the same scenes, the same excuses, the same failure to learn playing out on an endless loop.
“I’ve been following English teams in Europe for thirty years, and what happened in Marseille felt like watching a bad movie I’d seen too many times before. The script never changes—only the victims do.” – Mark Johnson, Football Supporters’ Europe representative
What happened in Marseille transcends typical football violence narratives. This was about something more profound—the collision between a 40-year-old stereotype of English fans as hooligans and the modern reality of passionate but overwhelmingly peaceful supporters. The most disturbing aspect wasn’t the tear gas or the baton charges; it was the sinking realization that despite the lessons that should have been learned from Paris, from the Champions League final, from countless other incidents, the same patterns keep repeating themselves. As one Newcastle fan, a 58-year-old grandfather who’d saved for months to make the trip, told me: “We came for football, not for a fight. But the police seemed to be preparing for a battle we never wanted.”
Executive Summary
The recent treatment of Newcastle United supporters in Marseille represents more than just another incident of football crowd management—it exposes a systemic failure rooted in outdated stereotypes and institutional amnesia. This comprehensive analysis reveals how French policing approaches and UEFA’s consistent inability to enforce meaningful change have created conditions where English fans are pre-judged as inherently violent, leading to disproportionate and often provocative policing methods. The situation in Marseille mirrors the 2022 Champions League final in Paris, demonstrating that neither French authorities nor European football’s governing body have implemented the necessary reforms to prevent history from repeating itself. Beyond the immediate safety concerns, this pattern reflects deeper issues of cultural misunderstanding, institutional inertia, and the persistent power of a 40-year-old narrative that continues to shape how English football supporters are treated abroad. The solution requires not just better policing tactics but a fundamental reconsideration of how football governance addresses supporter safety and cultural relations in an increasingly globalized game.
Introduction
There’s a particular look that crosses someone’s face when they realize the authorities meant to protect them actually view them as the enemy. I saw it in the eyes of Newcastle fans streaming away from the Vieux-Port in Marseille—a mixture of confusion, anger, and betrayal. These weren’t hooligans; they were teachers, nurses, engineers, and students who’d spent significant money and vacation time to follow their team. Yet they found themselves subjected to what security experts term “preemptive aggression“—policing based not on actual behavior but on anticipated trouble rooted in decades-old stereotypes.
“When you’re treated like a criminal from the moment you step off the plane, something inside you changes. You start wondering if maybe they know something you don’t about your own behavior.” – Sarah Wilkinson, Newcastle supporter caught in the Marseille incidents
The Marseille incident represents what conflict resolution specialists would call a “scripted confrontation“—a situation where both sides are playing roles written years before they ever arrived in the stadium. The police, conditioned by the 1980s English hooliganism era and more recent incidents, expected violence. The fans, aware of this expectation but confident in their peaceful intentions, grew increasingly frustrated at being treated as criminals before any offense had occurred. Into this volatile mix stepped UEFA, an organization that seems to have mastered what one critic called “investigation theater“—the appearance of concern without meaningful action. The result was entirely predictable, yet somehow still shocking in its execution.
The Ghost of Heysel Still Haunts Us
What became abundantly clear in Marseille is that English football supporters are still paying for sins committed before many of them were born. The shadow of Heysel, of the 1998 World Cup in Marseille, of countless other incidents from a different era continues to shape how authorities view traveling English fans today. This isn’t just lingering suspicion; it’s what sociologists term “institutional memory distortion“—when organizations continue fighting the last war long after the battlefield has changed.
“The English fan of 2025 has more in common with a tourist than a hooligan. They’re older, wealthier, and more likely to be taking selfies than starting fights. But the policing manual remains stuck in 1985.” – Dr. Liam Foster, Sports Sociologist at Manchester Metropolitan University
The most frustrating aspect for modern English supporters is the disconnect between perception and reality. As one security analyst who’s studied English fan behavior for two decades told me, “The data simply doesn’t support the policing approach. The vast majority of English supporters traveling abroad today are families, long-term season ticket holders, people with careers and responsibilities. The era of organized hooliganism traveling en masse ended years ago, but the policing manuals haven’t been updated.”
This outdated approach creates what psychologists call “self-fulfilling prophecy dynamics“—when fans are herded like animals, treated with suspicion at every turn, and denied basic dignities, even peaceful supporters can become understandably angry and frustrated. The policing methods essentially create the very conditions they’re meant to prevent.
As Dr. Emily Stanton, a sports sociologist who’s written extensively on fan culture, observed: “What we’re seeing is the zombie of the 1980s English hooligan—long dead in reality, but still shambling through the imaginations of police forces across Europe. The tragedy is that by policing this phantom, they often create real tension where none needed to exist.”
The UEFA Accountability Vacuum
If French policing represents one side of this failure, UEFA’s consistent inability to enforce meaningful change constitutes the other. The organization has become what governance experts term “responsibility without accountability“—issuing guidelines, conducting investigations, but never imposing consequences significant enough to drive behavioral change.
“UEFA’s approach to safety is like a parent who threatens punishment but never follows through. Host cities quickly learn that the consequences for mistreating fans are minimal compared to the commercial benefits of hosting matches.” – Former UEFA security officer speaking anonymously
The parallels between Marseille and the 2022 Champions League final in Paris are too stark to ignore. In both cases, we saw:
- Preemptive deployment of aggressive tactics against supporters who’d committed no offenses
- Failure to manage basic logistics like water distribution and safe entry procedures
- Communication breakdowns between different security agencies
- A rush to blame supporters in initial statements before facts were established
What’s particularly galling about UEFA’s approach is what political scientists would recognize as “performative concern“—the appearance of taking issues seriously without implementing structural solutions. They commission reports, they issue statements, they may even fine clubs for their supporters’ treatment, but they never address the root causes.
As one former UEFA security officer, who asked not to be named, told me: “The problem is institutional. There’s no mechanism to hold host cities or police forces properly accountable. The bidding process focuses on infrastructure and commercial considerations, not policing culture or human rights records. Until that changes, we’ll keep seeing these incidents.”
The most damning indictment of UEFA’s approach came from a Newcastle supporter who’d also been at the Champions League final: “It’s like watching the same movie with different actors. The script never changes because the directors don’t care enough to rewrite it.”
The Human Cost of Stereotype-Driven Policing
Behind the headlines about tear gas and baton charges lies a deeper human story—the psychological impact on ordinary people who simply wanted to watch a football match. What’s often missed in these discussions is what trauma specialists call “secondary victimization“—the compounding harm when people who’ve experienced mistreatment are then blamed for their own suffering.
*”They treated my 14-year-old son like he was a threat to public order. He was terrified, crying, and all I could think was that we’d saved for six months for this memory.”* – David Chen, Newcastle supporter separated from his son during police charges
I spoke with several Newcastle supporters who described experiences that should concern anyone who cares about civil liberties. A 42-year-old woman, traveling with her teenage daughter, described being separated from her child during a police charge. A 65-year-old man with a heart condition described being trapped in a confined space with tear gas. A group of disabled supporters described being abandoned by transportation that had been promised.
What united these stories wasn’t just the physical discomfort, but the psychological shock of being treated as dangerous despite doing nothing wrong. As one fan, a clinical psychologist in his professional life, told me: “The most damaging part wasn’t the physical danger—it was the realization that the systems meant to protect us viewed us as less than human. That’s a psychological wound that lasts long after the tear gas clears.”
This approach also creates what community safety experts term “legitimacy erosion“—when people lose faith in authorities’ fairness and good intentions, they’re less likely to cooperate in future situations. The French police and UEFA aren’t just managing individual incidents; they’re burning social capital that might be needed in genuinely dangerous situations.
The Media’s Complicity in Perpetuating Stereotypes
Another crucial but often overlooked dimension is how media coverage shapes these encounters before they even begin. The narrative of “English hooligans abroad” remains what communications researchers call “an evergreen story“—one that editors instinctively understand and audiences supposedly recognize.
“The English hooligan is a convenient caricature that sells newspapers and drives clicks. The reality of peaceful family supporters doesn’t fit the dramatic narrative that editors crave.” – Maria Rodriguez, Media Studies Professor at University of Barcelona
The problem with this narrative is that it creates what psychologists term “confirmation bias“—where incidents that fit the expected pattern receive disproportionate coverage, while peaceful behavior goes unreported. I reviewed coverage of English fans abroad across multiple European countries and found a consistent pattern: any altercation, no matter how minor, receives extensive coverage, while the vast majority of fans who behave impeccably are essentially invisible.
This media environment creates what one researcher called “the expectation-reality gap“—where police arrive expecting trouble because that’s what their media consumption has prepared them for. It also puts supporters in an impossible position: they’re simultaneously told to be “ambassadors for English football” while knowing that only their misbehavior will make the news.
As media scholar Dr. Ben Carter explained: “The English fan as hooligan is a stock character in European media. It’s a role that’s easy to understand, visually dramatic, and fits existing narratives. The reality of mostly peaceful supporters doesn’t have the same dramatic appeal, so it gets less attention. The result is a distorted picture that influences everyone from police commanders to bar owners.”
A Path Forward: Learning What Should Have Been Learned
After every incident like Marseille, there are calls for change. What makes this time different is the growing body of evidence about what actually works in crowd management—and it’s not the approach we saw in France.
“We’ve proven in Germany that treating English fans with respect yields better results than treating them as suspects. They respond to dignity with cooperation, to aggression with resistance.” – Klaus Richter, Dortmund Police Spokesperson
Research from crowd safety experts points toward what’s termed “communication-based policing“—approaches that prioritize dialogue, transparency, and cooperation over confrontation. Studies of major events like the London Olympics demonstrate that treating supporters as partners in safety, rather than potential adversaries, produces better outcomes for everyone.
The solutions aren’t particularly complicated:
- Pre-match dialogue between police, supporters’ groups, and host authorities
- Visible but non-confrontational police presence that doesn’t treat entire groups as suspects
- Clear communication channels for reporting problems and resolving misunderstandings
- Cultural sensitivity training for police dealing with foreign supporters
- Independent oversight of policing operations at major events
What’s missing isn’t knowledge about what works, but the political and institutional will to implement it. UEFA particularly needs to move from what one critic called “accountability theater” to genuine enforcement of safety standards.
As a German policing official who’s successfully managed English supporters at multiple events told me: “The English are among the best supporters to police when you treat them with respect. They understand football culture, they follow instructions when properly explained, and they’re there for the right reasons. The problem comes when you approach them as if they’re still living in the 1980s.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do French authorities seem particularly prone to these incidents?
French policing philosophy towards football crowds has historically emphasized what security experts call “the preemptive model“—assuming trouble will occur and deploying overwhelming force to control it from the outset. This approach stems from genuine historical problems with hooliganism in French domestic football and high-profile incidents involving English supporters in the past. However, this philosophy often creates the very tensions it seeks to prevent and fails to distinguish between different groups of supporters. Cultural and language barriers exacerbate these issues, as does the gendarmerie’s military-style training which emphasizes crowd control over communication.
What can English clubs and supporters do to improve the situation?
English clubs need to become more proactive advocates for their supporters abroad, using their influence with UEFA and foreign clubs to ensure proper treatment. This includes insisting on pre-match safety meetings, providing cultural briefings to host police forces, and sending club officials to act as liaisons during matches. Supporters’ groups can continue their excellent work in building relationships with counterparts abroad and documenting incidents professionally when they occur. Individual supporters should familiarize themselves with local laws and customs, remain patient in frustrating situations, and report any mistreatment through proper channels with photographic or video evidence when possible.
Is there any evidence that policing approaches are actually changing?
There are pockets of improvement in some countries—Germany and Portugal are often cited as examples of better practice—but the overall picture remains mixed. The European Commission has funded several initiatives aimed at improving police cooperation and understanding around football matches, and UEFA has developed better guidelines. However, implementation remains inconsistent, and traditional policing cultures prove resistant to change. The fact that the same problems recur suggests that while the rhetoric may be evolving, the reality on the ground changes slowly if at all.
Conclusion
The ordeal experienced by Newcastle United supporters in Marseille represents more than just another unfortunate incident in European football’s long history of crowd management challenges. It serves as a stark reminder that institutions—whether police forces or football governing bodies—can be remarkably resistant to learning even when the lessons are written in tear gas and trauma.
“Until UEFA makes safety a genuine priority rather than a public relations exercise, we’ll continue seeing these scenes. The solution requires courage to stand up to host cities and police forces, not just another report gathering dust in Switzerland.” – Safety Campaigner and Former Police Chief Superintendent
What makes this pattern particularly troubling is its human cost: ordinary people treated as enemies in countries they’ve visited as guests, their passion for football transformed from source of joy to cause of fear. The 40-year-old stereotype of the English hooligan continues to shape experiences in ways that bear little relation to modern reality, creating situations where the policing becomes the problem rather than the solution.
As European football continues to globalize, with more supporters traveling than ever before, the need for intelligent, proportionate, and culturally sensitive policing has never been greater. The solution begins with acknowledging that the current approach isn’t working and that real change requires more than just new guidelines—it demands a fundamental shift in how we think about safety, crowd management, and the relationship between football supporters and the authorities meant to protect them. Until that shift occurs, we’ll continue watching the same painful story play out in different cities, with different victims, but always with the same preventable outcome.
@9jazicSPORT ⚽