The 12th Man in the Old Firm Rivalry: Understanding Soccer Fan Violence and Football Fan Rivalry

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to present and explain some of the factors that reinforce and intensify soccer fan violence in the context of the Old firm fan rivalry. This study explored the Old Firm fan rivalry as a case study because it is the oldest fan rivalry in football history and is regarded as one of the most intense, fiercely contested and violent rivalry in football. Further, the study conceptualized soccer fan violence as an interplay between macro-level influences and mediating and moderating influences. This approach supports the necessity to engage in an in-depth study of football fan rivalries that avoids a mono-causal approach while considering the lived experiences of the fans into consideration. As a result, the study was able to engage in an analysis of the interplay between religion as the perceived macro-level influence, fan habitus and factors that affect the intensity and direction of fan violence in the Old firm fan rivalry. The study adopted a qualitative method of data collection because it provides an opportunity to analyze fans' opinions, interpretations and experiences as meaningful properties of social reality. In conclusion, the study comes to the defense of the Old firm fans and states that the role religion play as a macro-level influence in the Old firm fan rivalry is a myth. Further, the study found out that the Old firm fan rivalry is also reinforced mostly by the actions of agents of socialization for example parents, and intensified majorly by the absence of effective laws. The implication of findings points to the fact that religion or football fans are not inherently violent, and that soccer fan violence is ultimately embedded in a particular economic, political, social and cultural context.