Hooliganism in England is reported to have started as far back as 1880 when "Roughs" would attack referees and away team players, yet it was not until the 1960s that Football hooliganism grew to become a major part of society’s moral panic which was present at the time.
As travelling to away matches became more popular, supporters began to organise themselves into large gangs to intimidate opposition fans and it became common-place for fights to break out during a game.
Football gangs—or firms—started to appear up and down the country at many high profile clubs, gaining popularity and notoriety within society. After two major incidents during the seventies, crowd segregation and fencing at football grounds in England was introduced.
This led to football hooligans moving away from the stadiums and into the streets, arranging fights against rival firms in secluded areas, away from the watchful eye of the authorities.
As the problem of football related violence and large scale riots increased during the eighties, the Prime Minister created a war cabinet in order to eradicate the seemingly out of control hooliganism issue.
One particular incident that is seen as a major contributing factor towards the negative aspect of English football supporters was The European Cup final of 1985. The event took place in Brussels between Liverpool and Juventus.
It was reported that some Liverpool supporters charged a group of rival fans they believed to be the Juventus hooligan firm, breaking through a police barricade as they moved towards them.
The Juventus supporters—mostly made up of families and neutral fans—retreated to an unstable section of the stadium that resulted in a crumbling wall collapsing and killing 39 people.
This led to international outrage and a ban for English clubs in all European competitions.
After the disaster in Brussels and a previous incident earlier that year where riots between supporters led to the death of a 15 year old boy, a government report suggested that football may not be able to continue in its present form much longer, unless hooliganism was reduced.
The idea of banning away supporters from football matches was even considered.
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