Matt Williams: Powerful managers alone will not save football from rampant thuggery

In French workplaces, including rugby teams, at the beginning of each day co-workers greet each other with “une bise” – a kiss – on both cheeks. New non-French arrivals are provided with a period of what HR departments would describe as “cultural sensitivity training”, and they get a handshake. However, that is only a reprieve. Once both parties become comfortable with each other, every day starts with you and your colleague touching cheeks. In rugby teams that means getting 40 whiskery, prickling pecks from all your players and staff every morning. Yuck!

When I first experienced “une bise” it made me uncomfortable, but over time I began to realise how that greeting enhanced our organisation’s culture. In France at the beginning of each working day, the actions of your teammates show that you are important, respected and accepted. Organisational culture is simply “the way we do things around here” and in France, the “bise” is part of that.

Last Sunday as the Euro 2020 final unfolded, the cultures of Italy, England, and their supporters were splattered across Wembley stadium.

Even a casual observer, like me, could not help but be impressed with the attacking discipline of the Italians as they marched the ball up the field with surgical precision.

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Under the immense pressure of the Euro final, utilising patience and supreme accuracy, the Italians attacked with the same exacting system time after time. This tells us that the Italians have a powerful culture based on confidence in their individual skill supremacy and in the attacking strategy created by their manager, Roberto Mancini.

Team culture

The Italian team’s culture believes that “our processes are high quality. If we stick to our processes the outcomes will look after themselves”. History has proven them right.

While Gareth Southgate’s team were unsuccessful in the lottery of penalty shoot-outs, they played with bravery and courage. Qualities that Southgate has worked hard to install within the culture of his English team. Under Southgate’s thoughtful mentoring, the way he and his team are “doing things around here”, has yielded a World Cup semi-final and a Euro final.

Something their nation can be proud of.

The Euro finals demonstrated, once again, that positive cultures in sporting teams are created by their leaders. This was personified last Wednesday night by the Springboks's director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus. As several members of the Springboks staff were forced to isolate due to Covid, the team was short-staffed, so Erasmus ran water for the South African team in their victory over the Lions. In organisations with powerful cultures, service to the team is paramount. There was job that needed to be done, so Erasmus did it.

Regrettably, the Euros also proved that not all cultures are positive.

Supporters

The post-match vision of male English supporters violently attacking Italians as they were trying to leave the stands, was behaviour bordering on the sociopathic.

They have nothing to do with Southgate and his team, but they are an ever-present minority in English football.

English supporters of rugby league, rugby union and cricket do not have this culture. Crowd violence is not seen at Twickenham, St Helen’s, Lords or Wimbledon – but it is seen at Wembley.

Do not even think about throwing “it’s the working class” answer at me. That is an excuse attempting to perpetuate the centuries of injustice that the English class system continues to inflict on its own people.

Super League is English rugby league’s professional competition. With its roots buried deep within northern England’s working-class communities, rugby league has an exceptionally high level of physicality. Despite this, Super League has next to zero crowd violence.

Over four decades I have attended multiple cricket, rugby league, rugby and football matches across the UK. The only place I constantly encountered violence was at football matches. This cultural violence at football matches coexists with racism and sectarianism. Combined, they permeate a small but dangerous percentage of the terraces that has for generations been an open wound on the face of English football.

The seemingly insurmountable problem for English football is that these criminal gangs have ingrained their violent culture so deeply that it is now an inter-generational movement.

Violent gangs

It was violent gangs who ripped the seats out of the stands at Lansdowne Road in 1995 and called Jack Charlton a traitor. Those same gangs fought with north African and Russian mobs in Marseille at the 1998 World Cup. Now the following generation have brought that thuggery on to the hallowed turf of Wembley.

Last Sunday I saw the England players kneel before the match in act of unity against racism. I saw the messages on the electronic advertising boards that surround the ground, promoting positive behaviour between football supporters and players of all beliefs and races.

Yet what is imprinted on my brain from the Euro final is the sheer terror on the face of a young Italian man, who had just been knocked to the ground by a coward’s punch from behind. He lay there curling his arms and legs defensively around his body, mortally vulnerable.

These middle-aged thugs wearing English shirts surrounded him viciously kicked his ribs, back and head. He tried in vain to cover his face as one thug’s foot smashed repeatedly into his mouth. His agony was only ended by a brave steward, who drove his shoulder into the back of the head kicker, clearing a space before dragging the limp Italian’s man away.

While Mancini, Southgate and Erasmus have established powerful positive team cultures, football’s governing bodies will not admit the depth that this vile culture has captured parts of their community. These people are not football fans and players kneeling before a match will not change their behaviour.

They need to be hunted, arrested and treated as the violent criminals they are.