Following football clubs and countries evokes a huge amount of passion in fans. Supporters fanatically follow their teams, touring different destinations with their teams, just to be a part. It is often said that one can change their wife, but cannot change the football club they support.
When such passions are involved, emotions are bound to spill over. Radical supporters indulge in football hooliganism to show their loyalty towards the club. These hooligans formed groups called firms. These firms undertook intimidation tactics and indulged in radical fan behaviour.
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Football hooliganism has been under control for a while now apart from a few sporadic incidents. On Tuesday, West Ham fans let emotions get the better of them as they welcomed Manchester United in what was the final fixture at the Boleyn Ground.
The Hammers supporters did not let Manchester United get to the stadium in peace. They obstructed the path and threw metal cans and bottles on the window of the bus and shattered them. The match got delayed by an hour and the riot police had to be called in to control the crowds.
We list 5 instances where team buses were attacked by football hooligans.
1) Real Madrid bus attacked by Barcelona fans (2010)
Real Madrid were warmly welcomed by the Catalans when they arrived at the Barcelona airport. On their arrival to the team hotel, a group of radical Barcelona supporters going by the name of Boixos Noi stoned the bus carrying the Los Blancos.
The attack was fierce enough to shatter the glass next to defensive partners Alvaro Arbeloa and Raul Albiol who were fortunate to walk away unharmed from the incidents. No players from the Real Madrid squad were injured, although a member of the Real Madrid security detail was hit on the neck by a stone.
The resulting Clasico ended 5-0 in the favour of Barcelona, thus proving that such tactics do work even if they aren’t the right means to ruffle the feathers of the opposition.
A similar incident had occurred before El Clasico in 2006. Real Madrid were on their way to the stadium when their bus was pelted with stones, cans and bottles.
2) Argentina bus attacked in Peru (2014)
A bus carrying the Argentine football team, including Lionel Messi was attacked by Peruvians as they left their training facility in Peru’s capital city of Lima, prior to their World Cup 2014 qualifier against Peru.
The bus was stoned by fans shouting “Cristiano”, “Cristiano”, jibing Lionel Messi, who was present in the bus. Bricks were also thrown at the bus resulting in few broken windows but fortunately, no injuries.
This clash was reflective of the strained relations between the two countries since the 1990’s and the Cenepa War.
3) Togo team bus attacked by gunmen (2010)
The Togolese football team, on its way to the African Nations Cup, was attacked by machine gun wielding terrorists on the Togo-Angolese border. The attack wounded a few players and killed the driver of the bus.
The attack was carried out in the oil-rich territory of Cabinda by rebels who were fighting for Cabinda’s independence from Angola. Then Manchester City striker, Emmanuel Adebayor, who was on the bus as part of the Togo squad had described it as one of the worst experiences of his life.
Football teams are usually the victims of attacks from rival sets of fans seeking to intimidate the team which results into submission on the pitch. This was one of the rare occasions where football teams were being targeted by terrorists for political means.
4) Fenerbahce bus shot at (2015)
Fenerbache had just won 5-1 away at Caykur Rizespor and secured their position at the top of the table in the Turkish Super Lig ahead of arch-rivals Galatasaray. The bus was shot at by a gunman on its way to the airport, injuring the driver who later died in hospital.
The Turkish league was suspended for a week after the attacks as Fenerbache promised not to play again till the assailants were caught. Midfielder Mehmet Topal was of the opinion that the players had cheated death and got through the incident with only God’s protection.
5) Serbian team bus attacked ahead match against Albania (2015)
Serbia was due to play Albania in a politically tense encounter after the first leg in Belgrade was abandoned after a drone carrying a flag of “Greater Albania” was flown onto the pitch. Relations between the Balkan States and the Serbians resulted in a hostile atmosphere at the stadium.
Within hours of arriving in Albania, the Serbian team bus was attacked with stones. The players were instructed to keep their heads low and fortunately, nobody was injured.
