The first recorded instances of football hooliganism in the modern game allegedly occurred during the 1880s in England, a period when gangs of supporters would intimidate neighbourhoods, in addition to attacking referees, opposing supporters and players.

Who invented hooliganism?

The Compact Oxford English Dictionary states that the word may have originated from the surname of a rowdy Irish family in a music hall song of the 1890s. Clarence Rook, in his 1899 book, Hooligan Nights, wrote that the word came from Patrick Hoolihan (or Hooligan), an Irish bouncer and thief who lived in London.

How did England stop hooliganism?

Banning orders have proved to be a key weapon in the battle against hooliganism. Introduced in the 1989 Act and strengthened in 2000, the orders can be used to bar troublemakers not only from stadiums but also from public transport and town centres on matchdays, and from travelling abroad for international fixtures.