I have always wondered how sports can drive people completely out of their minds. Football, in particular, has been and continues to be exceptionally effective in this regard.
A recent example comes from Guinea, where a referee’s decision displeased part of the audience. This sparked violence that led to the deaths of dozens of people and, ultimately, the burning down of the local police station.
Guinea, of course, is a developing country, but football has also caused European and even Nordic sports fans to lose control from time to time. For instance, in Sweden, police had to intervene in a total of 24 matches in 2023 after situations spiraled out of control, with officers themselves becoming targets of violence.
Football is famously the world's most popular sport. According to Wikipedia, it is played by over 250 million people worldwide and is also the most-watched sport on television.
For this reason, violence associated with football is a serious issue. This is underscored by the fact that, in 1969, El Salvador and Honduras engaged in a military conflict triggered by a football match, though tensions between the countries were already high.
It was therefore intriguing to see that a recent scientific review article suggested that numerous psychological factors are at the root of football-related violence. These include personality traits, empathy, and materialism.
Research has also identified a positive correlation between sensation-seeking tendencies and sports violence, as well as a mitigating effect of cultural intelligence and tolerance on the likelihood of people resorting to unruly behavior during football matches. Among these, tolerance stands out as a particularly significant factor.
It seems, then, that it might be better if some individuals refrained from following football and redirected their interests elsewhere. This would benefit not only football players and other spectators but society as a whole.
Unfortunately, I believe they don't want to do this – and precisely for the same reasons why they should.
Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Everyone has the right
Violent demographic changes in Denmark
Increase of violence by youngsters in Finnish towns
I believe foot all is not quilty. People who are bent for violence use it as a cause for violence. For me they are morons.
ReplyDeleteFootball or soccer.
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