Why is there so much violence in football?

Why is there so much violence in football? More specifically among fans. Too often we see terrible events between rival fans in the news. The last violent event was seen in the final of the Copa Libertadores between the Argentine teams River Plate and Boca Juniors.

As a consequence of the violence that arose between various groups of fans, the final, instead of being played in Argentina, had to be played in Spain. Many people show their perplexity and astonishment at this type of collective behavior and do not understand the reasons that make it happen.

Nevertheless, Psychology has been studying the social behavior of groups for many years.so in this article we will try to shed light on what is hidden behind these violent and aggressive behaviors.

Violence in football from the deindividuation process

There is no single theory that brings together all the reasons that explain these events, but there are theories that address them. First of all, To explain violence in football we will address the process of deindividuation. This process does not explain violence in itself, but it does explain group behavior.

Let’s imagine that we are watching a soccer game and a player from the rival team is close to us. If we intend to insult him but we are surrounded by fans of the opposing team, in all likelihood we will not do it. Now, what would happen if we were surrounded by fans of the same team?

If the fans around us are from the same team and their intentions are also to insult, in the end we will all end up verbally attacking the rival team’s player. What is the difference between the two situations? anonymity and the responsibility.

As they point out Moral, Gómez and Canto (2004), “in this situations, anonymity, group and reduced individual self-awareness “would lead people to have uninhibited, impulsive and anti-normative behaviors”.

When we enjoy anonymity we become more inclined to carry out violent actions. If no one knows that we are the ones who insult, we will do it more likely than if we are the center of attention. On the other hand, when being in a group, self-awareness decreases, that is, we transfer our responsibility to the group. We stop being us and become the group, so what is usually thought is “Not only do I insult, but also the group.”“.

conformity process

Conformism is another process that could explain violence in football. This process consists of modifying an individual’s response, bringing it closer to that expressed by a majority of people. That is, changing our behavior to adapt it to that of the group.

As Paéz and Campos (2003) point out, “conformism is the change of beliefs or behaviors due to pressure from a group, which modifies the subject’s previous dispositions in the direction of the norm established by the group in question”.

In groups we can find several types of norms, among them: the descriptive norm, which refers to how one acts within the group. And the prescriptive norm, which refers to how it is expected to act. Conformism is a type of normative influence, since the individual is capable of changing his or her personal behavior to adapt it to that of the group. He is even capable of carrying out behaviors completely opposite to those he would carry out individually.

Therefore, if our reference group behaves violently, it would not be strange for us to adopt that behavior. This conformism increases as the prices rise. levels of group control over its members and the interdependence among them. It also increases when certain uncertainty or ambiguitythat is, “when I don’t know what to do, I adopt the behavior of the group.”

Conformism increases when there is similarity between the group and the individual. If someone feels very identified with a football team and with the violent ideology of a group of fans, he will be more willing to carry out violent behavior.

Final reflection

Violence in football is a reality that we experience all too frequently. Excessive expectations of external stimuli cause Let’s put our happiness in events like a soccer game.

If we have not received an adequate education and are accustomed to resolving differences through violence, it will not be difficult for us to act aggressively when faced with a disagreement. Therefore, a correct and respectful education with others is an important basis for avoiding this type of behavior.

A rich inner world and an open and reflective mind They will also give us strength in ourselves and reduce our need to be part of a group. Behind this need, on many occasions there is a lack of self-esteem that we try to alleviate by belonging to a group.

The feeling of belonging gives us the feeling of emotional fulfillment, so the personal fulfillment that I have not developed within myself, I look for outside.

Learning, knowing yourself, will be essential to avoid falling into groups where violence is one of their maxims. Since the lower our self-esteem and the “stronger” the group, the more need to belong we will have. So, if we start respect ourselves and othersthese types of events will be a thing of the past.

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