Rude Britannia

Soccer is the sport of the future, a wit recently observed, and it always will be.

That potential unfulfilled certainly could be the case in this country if American soccer moms — and dads — see much more of the thuggery surrounding World Cup `98. Any sport capable of generating so much bad behavior cannot be as good for the kids as, say, cock-fighting.

The most puzzling thing about the off-field violence is that the leading practicioners are not impoverished third-world countries where soccer may be seen as the only chance to earn the world’s respect. Britain, which gave the world the word “hooligan” to describe this activity, leads the pack, with Germany a close second.

British fans sacked Marseille over three nights last week, destroying cafes, assaulting police and beating senseless anyone who looked as though they might even consider rooting for opponent Tunisia. A major show of force by law enforcement, plus a city-wide business closure and a ban on ther sale of alcoholic beverages, kept British fans in check after a match in Lens, but then Germany’s horde ran wild, tearing up the economically struggling town and leaving one police officer in a coma. Britain’s match today against Argentina, an opportunity to settle any score left over from the Falklands War, is being anticipated with dread by the entire host city of Saint-Etienne. So much for generating world harmony and understanding through athletics.

And the governing body of world soccer, FIFA, seems unwilling to do anything but fret. Sepp Blatter, president of the organization, pointed out the other day that hooligans are not real fans and that the violence is not of soccer but of society, but stating the obvious is where he stopped. No remedies, no tough measures, no nothing.

This is especially unfortunate since the two countries want FIFA to get tough. The British press and public repeatedly have asked FIFA to ban English teams from international competition, a request then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher started making back in the early 1980s. Germany offered to pull its team from the competition after the Lens riot, but FIFA refused to allow it, concerned about the scheduling hassles that would ensue.

A lot of reasons are floated for these rampages — Britain’s decline as a world power, Germany’s struggle with unification, a general shortage of tickets — and they’re all nonsense. Brazil, Nigeria and Iran are hardly the most stable nations on the planet, yet their fans — even those who can’t get tickets — have fun and behave themselves.

Political unrest is not the problem; condoning criminal activity is. For years, FIFA winked at rowdiness in the stands, subtly suggesting it conveyed the passion the sport generates. Now, it’s spilled out into the streets and it must be stopped. The next World Cup in 2002 would be less competitive without Britain and Germany, but it certainly would be a lot safer.