Geographical typology of European football rivalries

Abstract

The objective of this article is to create a typology of football rivalries stemming from historical and/or present conflicts between various ethnic groups. Such football rivalries of an ethnic nature centre on various aspects, including nationality, ethnic identity, language, religion, territory or origin. The article is also aimed at presenting the phenomenon of attachment to a club – the so-called ‘football identity’ based on some component of ethnic identity. Although the article includes references to specific examples of rivalries, its purpose is rather to illustrate the geographical distribution of this phenomenon. The result will be a general ‘map’ of football ethnic rivalries in Europe (that is in member countries of Union of European Football Associations), which will be useful as a spatial illustration and a starting point for further discussion and research. The author has included not only the widely known and thoroughly examined examples of football rivalries resulting from ethnic and religious conflicts (e.g. Protestant Glasgow Rangers vs. Catholic Celtic Glasgow) but also those which have not been analysed yet (from Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, etc).

Notes

1. Stone, ‘The Role of Football in Everyday Life’.

2. Benkwitz and Molnar, ‘Interpreting and Exploring Football Fan Rivalries’.

3. See, for example: Dunning, Murphy and Waddington, ‘Anthropological versus Sociological Approaches’.

4. For the most important works of Leicester School see: Dunning et al. ‘The Social Roots of Football Hooliganism’; Dunning et al. ‘Spectator Violence at Football Matches’, Dunning et al. The Roots of Football Hooliganism. For the critique of Leicester School see: Armstrong, Football Hooligans; Bairner ‘The Leicester School’; Dunning ‘The Social Roots of Football Hooliganism’. See also: Spaaij, Understanding Football Hooliganism.

5. Armstrong and Giulianotti eds. Football Cultures and Identities; Stone, ‘The Role of Football in Everyday Life’.

6. Hutchinson and Smith, Introduction, 6–7.

7. Armstrong and Giulianotti, Fear and Loathing: Introducing Global Football Oppositions, 1–2.

8. Giulianotti, A Sociology of the Global Game, 10.

9. Benkwitz and Molnar, ‘Interpreting and Exploring Football Fan Rivalries’, 483–4.

10. Anderson, Imagined Communities.

11. Edensor, National Identity, 78–80.

12. Hobsbawm, Nations and Nationalism, 142.

13. Giulianotti, A Sociology of the Global Game, 10.

14. For more about socio-political and cultural backgrounds of Spanish football, see: Ball, Morbo.

15. Giulianotti, A Sociology of the Global Game, 10.

16. Tait, Kirkwall – Ba Game.

17. See, for example: Riordan, Sport and International Politics; Riordan, ‘The Impact of Communism on Sport’; Mertin ‘Ethnic Minorities’; Sudgen and Tomlinson, ‘Football, Ressentiment and Resistance’.

18. See, for example: Mills, ‘It All Ended in an Unsporting Way’; Dmowski and Szałański, ‘Globalna gra’.

19. Łęcki, ‘Śląski “Ruch”.

20. Giulianotti, A Sociology of the Global Game, 32–3.

21. Chandra, What is Ethnic Identity, 3.

22. Teichler, Fußball in der DDR.

23. Giulianotti and Robertson, Globalization of Football, 561.

24. King, Football Fandom.

25. Duke, Local Tradition versus Globalization, 19.