‘An important part of our own identity is determined by a group identity’, says Ufkes. ‘Especially in situations where anonymity plays a role, such as in Rome, group identity can quickly take over. People derive their self-esteem from groups and are then rapidly inclined to be proud of and also defend this.’
‘Classical psychology suggests that people in groups in any case transgress their norms sooner and resort to violence more quickly. It appears from more recent research that this depends on the group norm’, says Ufkes.
Group status compromised
How does this then apply to the situation in Rome last Thursday? The Italian newspaper Il Tempo headlined 'Dutch animals' on its front page, but Feyenoord fans claimed that the police caused the riots by acting without reason.
‘The presence of police may reinforce the we-they feeling’, says Ufkes. ‘What’s certainly possible is that the Feyenoord supporters had the feeling that they were cornered. That reinforced the feeling that they had nothing to lose. Their group status was compromised because they thought they were undeservedly being pushed into a corner. As a result, it is possible that they turned to violence in order to improve their group position.’
Distancing oneself from the hooligan behaviour
Now that about 2500 AS Roma fans are coming to Rotterdam for the return match, including - according to the Italian police - 500 hard-core supporters, plenty of precautions are being taken. Ufkes think that riots cannot be avoided in the short term. ‘A first idea, independent of social psychology, is to make a distinction between general and extreme supporters, and thus try to keep the group of rioters away. But that is logistically almost impossible.’
‘A second idea is to convince the Italians to distance themselves from the hooligan behaviour like Feyenoord did with the riots. Feyenoord thereby protected their own group identity. The us-them feeling is experienced by the supporters of both clubs. For the long term, it is therefore a good idea to work constructively on the mutual relationship and to jointly create a wonderful football celebration.’ With the hard-core AS Roma fans, that will not be possible today, fears Ufkes.
