Hooligan and Ultrà

In Green Street Hooligans (Alexander, England, 2005), the world of English hooligans is shown to us through the eyes of Matt Buckner (Wood) who was just kicked out of Harvard for being accused of something he didn’t do: "West Ham is mediocre. But their firm is first-rate." So a young American is told soon after arriving in London (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times).

Italian Ultras have a lot in common with English Hooligans. However, we might point out two main differences: the degree of politicization (see the video Irriducibili Lazio, especially part 2), and a peculiar social condition: Italian young ultras are living with their parents (for the last point see the post “Living with Mom (or very very close)”. So once they are finished with their performance a dish of pasta cooked by their mamas is always ready at home.

The ex-foreign secretary David Miliband has resigned from the board of Sunderland football club over new head coach Paolo Di Canio's "past political statements" – read the article here . 

This year Di Canio has been accused again to be  to be racist by English newspapers, and he has always defended himself like that:  I'm a fascist, not a racist.  Di Canio has a "Dux" tattoo and has expressed a fascination with Benito Mussolini: 'Fascist' Di Canio polarizes opinion (CNN).
A year ago 10 supporters of English club Tottenham Hotspur were injured in a knife attack by masked assailants in Rome ahead of a Europa League match with Lazio. And violence is still alive inside and outside the pitch. Last April two people were stabbed after rival groups of fans clashed in Rome ahead of the local Serie A derby between AS Roma and SC Lazio. Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno said that businesses in the area around the stadium had been forced to close during the clashes. Ambulance crews were forced to flee after their vehicle was pelted with sticks, stones and firecrackers, see the video. 

Last week an investigation has begun after an Italian third division match was called off amid allegations of death threats and a team being reduced to six men (see the article Inquiry launched after Italian game abandoned over 'death threats').

Below the BBC's documentary Foreign Fields, about the hooliganism as a global phenomenon.

The Real Football Factories International is a documentary style program about football hooliganism across the world. You can check below the part dedicated to Italy.