A 14-Year-Old Boy Died: Far-Right Groups Behind the Violence At the End of Football Matches in Europe

The French newspaper Le Figaro reported that youths from the far-right wearing masks attacked the Moroccan fans after the Morocco-France match, chanting "Down with the Arabs!" and "We are at home!" The incident coincided with the outbreak of clashes in the streets of Paris and Nice Montpellier between fans.

A shocking video showed horrific moments of the death of a 14-year-old boy in the French city of Montpellier, after being crushed by a car carrying the French flag, amid riots in France following the match between the French and Moroccan teams, which ended with France winning 2-0 and qualifying for the 2022 Qatar World Cup final.

It is not the first incident of its kind, as these events are repeated in European countries after the end of the matches. Extremists provoke the masses and create clashes that end in chaos and violence.

Reports stated that the boy was among a group that appeared to be cheering the Moroccan national team on a street in Montpellier.

Reportedly, the driver of a white car with a French flag sticking out the window attempted to turn at speed but ran over the boy, who sustained serious injuries. The authorities revealed that he was taken to a nearby hospital, but he died.

Le Figaro newspaper reported that the driver fled the scene, but the police managed to seize the vehicle.

 

Widespread Violence

The French police had announced the arrest of more than 40 far-right supporters, who were preparing to gather on the Champs-Elysees in Paris in order to stir up riots, and the police revealed that they had found weapons with many of the detainees.

Hundreds of police trucks surrounded fans to secure the area, setting off fireworks and flares to the sound of trumpets and chants.

In Lyon, local media reported that police fired tear gas after throwing stones and projectiles at them.

Italian police said on December 7 that they had arrested 13 far-right activists in Verona on charges of assaulting Moroccan football fans who were celebrating their country's historic qualification for the World Cup quarter-finals.

The police said in a statement that the fans were celebrating in the center of the northern Italian city on December 6 evening after Morocco's victory over Spain when they were attacked by men dressed in black with their faces covered.

It added that those arrested were identified by the investigators as members of extreme right-wing groups in the city.

Morocco's progress in the World Cup saw wild celebrations by its supporters in cities with large numbers of Moroccan immigrants around the world, which at times turned violent.

Observers believe that the penetration of members from the far-right into the celebrations was the reason behind the violence that started on many occasions.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the anti-immigrant League party, posted pictures of the Milan violent events on Twitter, saying he hoped those responsible would be identified and forced to pay compensation for property damage.

 

Inside Stadiums

The growth of racist incidents during football matches has drawn attention to far-right groups and their infiltration into fan bases across Europe. The report published by Kick It Out revealed that incidents of discrimination at professional and amateur football matches across the UK rose from 469 in 2016-17 to 520 in 2017-18. According to the organization's report, about 53% of documented cases of discrimination are related to racism in stadiums.

In this regard, Professor of History at Michigan State University Peter Allery said that racism in European football is an old tradition, and its long history goes back to the racist monkey chants directed at Arthur Wharton, the first black professional football player in England in the 1980s.

London police investigated violent racial abuse directed at Manchester City striker Raheem Sterling by Chelsea fans. Sterling accuses opponent fans of using racist language against him after his team won 2-0 on December 8, 2018.

Four days after the match, members of the Chelsea Headhunters, hooligan football fanatics accused of racist incidents, posted a picture on social media bearing the symbol Totenkopf that is, the skull and crossbones, the emblem that was the symbol of the Nazi organization responsible for the concentration camps during the Holocaust.

The Chelsea Headhunters are known for their links to white supremacist groups, including the far-right British National Front party and the neo-Nazi terrorist association Combat 18.

Far-right groups in football have not been confined to a particular country. In Italy, for example, Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly was subjected to racist insults related to monkeys during his team's Serie A match against Inter Milan on December 26, 2018.

 

Infiltrate Football Matches

Alberto Testa, a professor of criminology at the University of West London and expert on far-right terrorism, said that the far-right groups that infiltrate football matches are highly organized, consisting of 40 to 50 people with athletic bodies, tattoos, and often they post images on social media to terrorize opponents and carry out carefully planned acts of violence, which are difficult to stop.

Pavel Klimenko, a member of the Organization for the Fight against Racism in Europe (FARE), said that politics had played a major role in the racist events taking place in the stadiums now.

He added that the Europeans' fear of refugees and immigrants in Italy and Europe as a whole, along with the rise of far-right parties, and the racist discourse of Giorgia Meloni against immigrants and ethnic minorities in the country, such as closing ports In their face, imposing draconian asylum laws, blaming immigrants for high unemployment, have all affected football stadiums.

Footballers with migrant backgrounds have decried anti-immigrant actions across the continent, and experts have decried the racist rhetoric of officials and politicians as incubating racism.