RE: Heysel, 37 anni dopo [#steemexclusive - #multilanguage]
I was too young to remember that night but the word "Heysel" is synonymous with that tragedy.
In many senses, those days of violence at football are behind us - the idea of away fans "taking the home end" or vice versa is fortunately no longer "a thing" in English football like it was in the 80's.
The legacy will always remain and what happened to Liverpool fans in Paris at the Champions League final has happened because the reputation of English fans abroad precedes the fact that most people who travel to watch football these days are families with children.
I still feel it's an ugly part of our culture though - an angry and aggressive undercurrent in society which the alcohol fuelled idiots unleash before and after a football match which I feel is getting worse again. I've been to 2 away matches this season and neither were places that I would take my children. Pre-lockdown, I wouldn't have hesitated to take them to an away match but since lockdown ended, things are different again. And the authorities are either too incompetent or scared to do anything about it.
It' s very sad to read these words. In Italy, but I would say also in the rest of Europe, England has always been seen in recent years as a model for its fight against violent supporters and to know that something is deteriorating in this sense is not a good signal for the whole football world.
I think it's more a reflection of English society in general. Violent crime being reported continues to increase whilst the number of people being sentenced is decreasing.
Although more family oriented than ever before, football will always attract young men who are most likely to misbehave. So if something isn't done, the families will slowly disappear and things will continue to get worse again. I'd still prefer to go and watch an away match in England than most other countries though!