Early history

Football and violence can be traced back to the Middle Ages in England.^{[neutrality disputed]} In 1314, Edward II banned football (which then was a violent free-for-all involving rival villages fly-hacking a pig's bladder across the local heath) because he believed the disorder surrounding matches might lead to social unrest or even treason.^[5] The first recorded instances of football hooliganism in the modern game took place in the 1880s in England, a period when gangs of supporters would intimidate neighbourhoods, as well as attack referees and opposing supporters and players. In 1885, after Preston North End beat Aston Villa 5-0 in a friendly match, the two teams were pelted with stones; attacked with sticks, punched, kicked and spat at. One Preston player was beaten so severely that he lost consciousness. Press reports of the time described the fans as "howling roughs".^[5] The following year, Preston fans fought Queen's Park fans in a railway station; the first recorded instance of football hooliganism away from a match. In 1905, several Preston fans were tried for hooliganism, including a "drunk and disorderly" 70 year old woman, following their match against Blackburn Rovers.^[5]

Between the two world wars, there were no recorded instance of football hooliganism, but it started attracting widespread media attention in the late 1950s due to its re-emergence in Latin America. In the 1955-56 English football season, Liverpool and Everton fans were involved in a number of train-wrecking incidents. By the 1960s, an average of 25 hooligan incidents were being reported each year in England.^[5]