The contentious fans: The impact of repression, media coverage, grievances and aggressive play on supporters' violence

This article poses the question of which macro-sociological explanations best predict the level of soccer supporters' violence. By conceptualizing supporters' violence as a form of contentious violence, four possible explanations are proposed: repression, media attention, unemployment and aggressive play on the pitch. These explanations are tested for the occurrence of violence around soccer matches in the Netherlands during the period 2001-5. The authors employ a Generalized Event Count model and multi-level logistic regression analysis and demonstrate that media attention, unemployment and aggressive play on the pitch are significant explanatory factors for the occurrence of violence. Police repression does not have a significant impact.