The glamorous lady group, the notorious football hooligan, these are the two labels of English football. Football hooligans, in particular, make the outside world talk about "England fans" discolored. The author of this article, Andrew Nicholls, is one of the English football hooligans. This article is a "memoir" written by Nichols to the website of the Open Air Stand. Why do young people become football hooligans? Will football hooliganism still run rampant? And listen to Nichols slowly say -
My name is Andrew Nichols, An everton fan, 30 years old football hooligan.
I was listed as a C-class dangerous guy, the highest-ranking soccer hooligan, and that's not bragging. I have been in jail for my involvement in troublemaking, and all countries in Europe have expelled me. I was forbidden to watch the ball game so many times that I couldn't even remember it myself.
I've been through many, many things in my life, stayed in the best hotels in the world, drank the most delicious champagne, but what made me feel the most hilarious was being a court thug, really. We are the disdainful hooligans, you can call them whatever you want.
People will ask me: What makes you violent? My answer is: excitement.
At that time, there was nothing to excite you except football. No xbox, no internet, no hobbies. Football is one of the hobbies that ordinary people can enjoy. In the world of football, you can be a hunter or a prey. And I chose to be a hunter, looking for trouble everywhere. Thousands of young people, like me, see football violence as an act of making themselves laugh, like an addiction.
Sometimes, I suddenly clear my head and tell myself, don't do this again. But that's just when I was arrested and tried in court. During one of the clashes, I saw someone being slashed and scaled... These are true stories.
In 2002, When Everton visited Belgium to challenge Anderlecht, Nichols led 50 Everton fans and clashed with 400 fans. He claimed that his brothers could defeat them.
As an Everton fan, I've seen a lot of away fans who come to Goodison Park and break away from the big crowds, who plead bitterly with Everton football hooligans: "Don't cut us." "Usually, these pleas don't work. These bullied people have scars on their bodies.
I love going away – hundreds of provocateurs roaming the streets, misbehaving and murderous. We like London the most, and every time we go to London, we copy the plot of the movie, and we can pick up groups anywhere. We used to be in London Underground, fighting a bunch of fans for life and death, and I survived.
In 1980, a jewelry store in Tottenham was smashed and robbed by football hooligans, and 150 people were arrested, but there was not much attention in the newspapers and television stations. Because it's so common, it happens every week.
Later, we became the fans of the England national team, which was our hilarious day, 5,000 thugs, wandering around the big cities of Europe, wreaking havoc, smashing and looting. The locals saw us, fearing to avoid it, and when we left, it became a ruin.
In Luxembourg in 1983, we even fought directly with the local legions. Soldiers and policemen were beaten by us and fled in all directions, and we launched wave after wave of onslaught. They guarded a clothing store, and we ransacked it.
But in 1985, the Hathel massacre happened, and I was there. 39 Juve fans were killed, and this tragedy attracted the attention of the police, and we became the public enemies of the world. In the past, British fans disgusted the world, and now, there are still a few remnants of thugs, but the whole has disintegrated.
Nowadays, there are still young people involved in football violence, which is really courageous - because under the severe crackdown of the police and the army, anyone who makes trouble will be arrested and imprisoned. The days when the court was playing and chopping, it was no longer coming back. Young people's lives are more colorful, they can play football games, they can surf the Internet, and other hobbies.
I would like to say to the young people who have violence in football, let's give up and be careful to sail the ship of ten thousand years. At a young age, is it worth going to jail? Don't be carried away by the impulse.
Now I have a new family and a stable income. Young people, you want to not take risks, you want to participate in football conflicts, that is impossible. I believe that people my age will stay away from strife. But it's not absolute, because those who are still active on the front lines of football conflict can't do without one thing: excitement.
P.S. Nichols, now under the ban, can enter everton home. After signing a code of conduct agreement, he can sit with his daughter and enjoy the game at Goodison Park.