WEBVTT 00:00:06.386 --> 00:00:09.055 Good morning, Wrexham, and happy Sunday. 00:00:09.097 --> 00:00:10.640 Rob and Ryan have left town. 00:00:10.682 --> 00:00:12.392 It feels much quieter now, doesn't it? 00:00:12.434 --> 00:00:14.019 Very much so. 00:00:14.060 --> 00:00:15.353 It's been a rather remarkable week 00:00:15.395 --> 00:00:18.023 with Rob and Ryan in town, but there was a sour note. 00:00:18.023 --> 00:00:19.482 Not only did the team struggle on the pitch, 00:00:19.524 --> 00:00:21.067 but the Torquay match ended 00:00:21.109 --> 00:00:22.569 on a desperately despondent note 00:00:22.569 --> 00:00:23.737 due to several acts of 00:00:23.737 --> 00:00:25.405 violence from our supporters. 00:00:25.405 --> 00:00:26.656 We just don't want to see this. 00:00:26.698 --> 00:00:28.950 This club is getting more and more high profile. 00:00:28.992 --> 00:00:30.660 We've got strong family values. 00:00:30.702 --> 00:00:33.538 We can't have this being ruined by mindless idiots. 00:00:33.580 --> 00:00:34.664 Well, there was a couple of incidents 00:00:34.706 --> 00:00:36.374 that have happened at the railway station. 00:00:36.416 --> 00:00:38.168 One gentleman, 00:00:39.335 --> 00:00:40.754 who is actually a Wrexham fan, stood on the platform. 00:00:40.795 --> 00:00:45.216 Witnesses observed a group of other Wrexham fans 00:00:45.258 --> 00:00:47.302 approaching the railway station. 00:00:47.343 --> 00:00:50.346 They engaged in some verbals with him. 00:00:50.388 --> 00:00:53.058 They were shouting things over to him. 00:00:53.099 --> 00:00:54.768 They then come over this bridge. 00:00:54.768 --> 00:00:56.352 On this side of the platform 00:00:56.394 --> 00:00:59.272 is where this all was taking place. 00:02:12.220 --> 00:02:14.222 And then out of the 20, 00:02:15.390 --> 00:02:19.310 five, six, maybe seven, were throwing punches towards me. 00:03:17.452 --> 00:03:20.121 This is what you become a football fan for-- 00:03:20.163 --> 00:03:21.623 these sort of occasions. 00:03:21.623 --> 00:03:24.751 Your club getting the opportunity to perform 00:03:24.792 --> 00:03:26.419 when the stakes are high. 00:03:26.461 --> 00:03:28.338 It's nerve-racking, but it's exciting. 00:03:32.217 --> 00:03:33.384 The teams have come out. 00:03:33.384 --> 00:03:35.720 You can hear the noise. It's a fantastic crowd. 00:03:45.313 --> 00:03:48.441 You'll have what people call "the happy clappers." 00:03:48.483 --> 00:03:50.318 - Oh! - God! 00:03:50.360 --> 00:03:52.654 - When things are going really, really wrong, 00:03:53.279 --> 00:03:54.489 we'll still clap. 00:04:01.329 --> 00:04:02.956 - And it's like, just * off. 00:04:04.290 --> 00:04:06.584 You have moaning supporters like me. 00:04:11.422 --> 00:04:13.258 The amount of times I've turned around 00:04:13.299 --> 00:04:14.801 to say "will you shut your mouth" 00:04:14.801 --> 00:04:16.302 'cause I just can't bear it. 00:04:16.302 --> 00:04:18.263 Let's go, Wrexham! 00:04:18.304 --> 00:04:20.390 - You get incredibly passionate lads. 00:04:27.230 --> 00:04:28.481 - You're probably right. 00:04:48.334 --> 00:04:51.379 And every club has hooligans. 00:05:05.810 --> 00:05:07.895 * off! 00:05:21.034 --> 00:05:23.536 So obviously, we had heard of hooliganism, 00:05:23.536 --> 00:05:25.955 or hooligans, over the years, 00:05:25.997 --> 00:05:28.916 but we didn't really quite understand what they were 00:05:28.916 --> 00:05:30.668 or really what that meant 00:05:30.710 --> 00:05:32.462 until now. 00:05:37.967 --> 00:05:41.387 The word "hooligan" popped up in the 1890s 00:05:41.429 --> 00:05:43.973 in London, two references to the name. 00:05:44.015 --> 00:05:48.478 One was in a serial comics publication called "Nuggets" 00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:50.730 that depicted an Irish family living in London 00:05:50.772 --> 00:05:53.358 by the name Hooligans. 00:05:53.358 --> 00:05:56.444 The other was in the London newspapers in 1894, 00:05:56.486 --> 00:05:58.279 referring to a street gang, 00:05:58.321 --> 00:06:00.281 the Hooligan Boys, 00:06:00.281 --> 00:06:03.242 that was committing violent crimes in South London, 00:06:03.451 --> 00:06:06.829 including one member committing murder in 1898. 00:06:06.871 --> 00:06:08.373 It's believed they named themselves 00:06:08.414 --> 00:06:10.041 after Patrick Hoolihan, 00:06:10.083 --> 00:06:13.503 an Irish criminal who murdered a police officer. 00:06:18.007 --> 00:06:19.967 While hooliganism is global, 00:06:20.009 --> 00:06:23.471 it has often been called the English disease. 00:06:23.513 --> 00:06:25.098 Every club has unsanctioned groups 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:27.809 of hooligan supporters referred to as firms. 00:06:29.936 --> 00:06:33.106 Firms act as unofficial club enforcers. 00:06:33.106 --> 00:06:35.024 They shout at, pick fights, 00:06:35.066 --> 00:06:38.569 and chase down opposing club supporters. 00:06:38.611 --> 00:06:40.071 They've been known to use things like rocks, 00:06:40.113 --> 00:06:42.407 bricks, concrete slabs, 00:06:42.448 --> 00:06:44.117 iron bars, and bottles, 00:06:44.158 --> 00:06:45.618 as well as knives, 00:06:45.618 --> 00:06:47.078 flare guns, 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:49.747 and petrol bottles. 00:06:49.789 --> 00:06:52.375 Because of heavy gun regulation in the UK, 00:06:52.417 --> 00:06:56.087 luckily, there are very few firearms. 00:06:56.087 --> 00:06:58.423 But that doesn't mean it's not brutal 00:06:58.423 --> 00:06:59.715 and sometimes deadly. 00:07:04.303 --> 00:07:06.514 While hooliganism has been ever-present, 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:09.767 it rose to popularity in the '70s and '80s. 00:07:09.809 --> 00:07:12.562 The British economy was reeling as it divested itself 00:07:12.603 --> 00:07:16.482 of its empire and felt a crunch of global recession. 00:07:16.524 --> 00:07:18.401 Heavy industry and blue-collar jobs 00:07:18.401 --> 00:07:19.652 were going overseas. 00:07:19.694 --> 00:07:20.903 In Wrexham, 00:07:20.945 --> 00:07:24.449 coal, steel, and breweries went away. 00:07:24.490 --> 00:07:28.119 Young, bored, disaffected men turned to violence. 00:07:32.623 --> 00:07:35.001 ...was what one might describe as a lower working class 00:07:35.001 --> 00:07:37.503 council estate. 00:07:37.545 --> 00:07:40.506 These seem to be communities categorized by... 00:08:47.073 --> 00:08:48.616 - Jesus Christ. 00:08:51.035 --> 00:08:53.496 Not the sturdiest that I've been on for this. 00:09:07.093 --> 00:09:08.052 He's all right, yeah. 00:09:08.052 --> 00:09:10.221 - Yeah, he's a good lad. 00:09:10.221 --> 00:09:11.514 You can be honest. 00:09:12.723 --> 00:09:13.641 - Are you sure? 00:10:08.279 --> 00:10:10.740 - I grew up in Brymbo in Wrexham. 00:10:10.740 --> 00:10:12.533 It's a little village, 00:10:13.326 --> 00:10:14.327 about ten minutes from town, 00:10:14.368 --> 00:10:16.120 up in the hills really. 00:10:16.120 --> 00:10:19.248 I grew up there with my mum, dad, and my sister. 00:10:19.290 --> 00:10:21.334 It was nice, 'cause it was quite quiet up there. 00:10:21.334 --> 00:10:24.295 There was never any trouble or anything like that. 00:10:24.337 --> 00:10:25.838 I used to have friends across the road 00:10:25.880 --> 00:10:27.840 that we used to play outside. 00:10:27.882 --> 00:10:30.259 There was a field down the road where we used to play football. 00:10:30.301 --> 00:10:32.803 I was a bit of a tomboy back in my day. 00:10:32.845 --> 00:10:35.139 But then I turned into a teenager, 00:10:35.181 --> 00:10:38.601 and I went the girly way, I suppose. 00:10:38.601 --> 00:10:41.228 My dad's in a band called James, and he's the drummer. 00:10:41.270 --> 00:10:44.732 They were pretty popular in America in the '90s, 00:10:44.774 --> 00:10:47.860 so when I was younger, he used to take me on tour, 00:10:47.902 --> 00:10:50.946 and festivals, to recording studios, and stuff. 00:10:50.988 --> 00:10:52.782 I wanted to be a tour manager, 00:10:52.823 --> 00:10:55.201 I think, 'cause I loved being on tour. 00:10:55.242 --> 00:10:57.662 I just wanted to do it forever, and I knew obviously, 00:10:57.703 --> 00:11:00.289 eventually, Dad won't be touring anymore, 00:11:00.331 --> 00:11:01.999 so I just didn't want it to end. 00:11:09.965 --> 00:11:13.052 detective constable fast-track. 00:11:13.094 --> 00:11:14.804 So you just got fast-tracked to detective. 00:11:14.845 --> 00:11:18.641 You didn't have to be-- not a police officer first. 00:11:18.683 --> 00:11:19.934 So I thought I would give it a go. 00:11:19.975 --> 00:11:22.269 Didn't think I'd ever have a chance at getting it. 00:11:22.311 --> 00:11:23.813 I just thought I'd put my name down. 00:11:23.854 --> 00:11:25.231 And I got the job. 00:11:25.272 --> 00:11:27.316 I couldn't wait. I was so excited. 00:11:39.036 --> 00:11:40.621 Like, I'd watch England on the sofa 00:11:40.663 --> 00:11:42.123 or Wales on the sofa 00:11:42.164 --> 00:11:44.417 and put it on every three or four years, 00:11:44.458 --> 00:11:46.794 but I wouldn't travel on a Tuesday night 00:11:46.836 --> 00:11:48.212 to do it in the freezing cold. 00:11:49.922 --> 00:11:52.049 I'm just not that excited about the club. 00:11:55.720 --> 00:11:58.139 I'm dating a Wrexham supporter. 00:11:58.389 --> 00:11:59.849 He's crazy about Wrexham, 00:11:59.974 --> 00:12:02.101 but I just don't understand 00:12:02.143 --> 00:12:05.020 how he's so crazy about a football club. 00:12:33.883 --> 00:12:35.634 - The police were there, and they were blocking the fans 00:12:35.676 --> 00:12:37.887 from getting to the away fans. 00:12:37.887 --> 00:12:39.764 I was sitting my car waiting for the police to pass 00:12:39.805 --> 00:12:42.641 'cause we couldn't leave the car park until they'd gone. 00:12:42.683 --> 00:12:45.936 And next thing, I just see Jonny running down the road, 00:12:45.978 --> 00:12:49.607 and I just thought, what an idiot. 00:12:56.155 --> 00:12:57.990 - But you're banned. 00:13:13.297 --> 00:13:15.549 - Why? 00:13:28.270 --> 00:13:29.814 - So you're gonna keep buying the season ticket 00:13:29.855 --> 00:13:31.357 on the off-chance they're gonna go up? 00:13:31.398 --> 00:13:32.358 - Yeah. 00:13:44.078 --> 00:13:46.038 - Come on! - Idiot. 00:14:06.225 --> 00:14:08.185 Swung in right for the great wall. 00:14:09.019 --> 00:14:11.438 This religious and interregional divide 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:15.025 was the catalyst for the 1980 Scottish Cup Finals riot 00:14:15.025 --> 00:14:16.986 that was seen by millions on TV 00:14:17.027 --> 00:14:19.697 and triggered the ban of alcohol at Scottish games 00:14:19.738 --> 00:14:20.739 moving forward. 00:14:22.950 --> 00:14:24.785 Another historically tragic incident 00:14:24.827 --> 00:14:26.996 was on May 29, 1985, 00:14:27.037 --> 00:14:30.332 when Liverpool met the Italian football club, Juventus, 00:14:30.374 --> 00:14:33.961 in the European Final at Heysel Stadium in Belgium. 00:14:34.003 --> 00:14:35.212 At the moment, we don't know. 00:14:35.254 --> 00:14:37.715 We're just going on reports that are coming in. 00:14:37.756 --> 00:14:40.843 At about 7:00 p. m., before the game even started, 00:14:40.843 --> 00:14:43.846 the barrier between sections X and Z broke down. 00:14:43.888 --> 00:14:46.849 Stadium and police forces were overwhelmed. 00:14:46.891 --> 00:14:49.059 Crumbling insufficient infrastructure 00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:51.020 and under-resourced policing 00:14:51.061 --> 00:14:53.856 combined with the worst elements of hooliganism 00:14:53.898 --> 00:14:56.859 and produced a tragedy that saw 39 fans killed 00:14:56.901 --> 00:14:59.445 and 600 injured. 00:14:59.486 --> 00:15:00.905 It's the most disgraceful scenes 00:15:00.946 --> 00:15:02.698 I've seen at a soccer game live. 00:15:02.740 --> 00:15:05.117 After the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster, 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:06.994 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher 00:15:07.036 --> 00:15:10.623 set up a war cabinet to combat hooliganism. 00:15:10.664 --> 00:15:12.082 Parliament subsequently passed 00:15:12.124 --> 00:15:14.710 the Football Spectators Act of 1989 00:15:14.710 --> 00:15:17.421 and the Football Disorder Act of 2000. 00:15:17.463 --> 00:15:19.089 Laws such as these have helped, 00:15:19.131 --> 00:15:22.468 but wherever you find young men with time, 00:15:22.509 --> 00:15:24.929 poor economic prospects, and a love of football, 00:15:24.970 --> 00:15:26.805 you'll find hooliganism, 00:15:26.847 --> 00:15:29.808 which is why you find a heavy police presence at every match 00:15:29.850 --> 00:15:31.644 and entire sections of empty seats 00:15:31.685 --> 00:15:33.896 that separate opposing fans. 00:15:33.938 --> 00:15:36.732 But even that can't stop everything. 00:15:36.774 --> 00:15:38.734 And after two years of a pandemic 00:15:38.776 --> 00:15:40.444 and economic uncertainty, 00:15:40.486 --> 00:15:42.780 the question is, will it make a comeback? 00:15:42.821 --> 00:15:44.907 - Would I say it's on the rise again? Possibly. 00:15:44.907 --> 00:15:46.742 These days, most incidents tend to occur 00:15:46.784 --> 00:15:48.577 at prearranged locations 00:15:48.619 --> 00:15:50.496 as opposed to the matches themselves. 00:15:50.537 --> 00:15:51.872 They are preplanned. 00:16:12.434 --> 00:16:14.353 I think a lot of the issues that we tend to get, 00:16:14.478 --> 00:16:15.729 at Wrexham, at this level, 00:16:15.771 --> 00:16:18.065 is what we call spontaneous disorder. 00:16:18.107 --> 00:16:21.443 So initially, we had bottles and coins 00:16:21.485 --> 00:16:24.488 coming from this area, so here to here. 00:16:24.530 --> 00:16:28.158 And then, when Torquay scored their goal late in the game, 00:16:28.200 --> 00:16:31.662 we also had some bottles and drinks thrown 00:16:31.704 --> 00:16:34.957 from this section, so above them in this area here. 00:16:34.999 --> 00:16:37.042 As soon as we have identified all the individuals, 00:16:37.042 --> 00:16:38.711 the club will be issuing interim bans 00:16:38.752 --> 00:16:40.462 and revoking any season tickets 00:16:40.504 --> 00:16:43.465 pending an investigation by the police. 00:16:43.507 --> 00:16:44.925 We were not made aware of that 00:16:44.925 --> 00:16:48.887 until after we had gotten back to the States. 00:16:48.929 --> 00:16:50.222 And obviously 00:16:50.264 --> 00:16:51.557 that's not something 00:16:51.598 --> 00:16:54.018 we would ever condone or tolerate, 00:16:54.059 --> 00:16:55.894 and we took the necessary actions. 00:16:55.936 --> 00:16:57.229 It was just a shame that it happened. 00:16:59.857 --> 00:17:03.193 I think it's highly regrettable 00:17:03.193 --> 00:17:08.866 that a very small minority of fans 00:17:08.907 --> 00:17:13.245 resort to the types of behavior that are driven by-- 00:17:13.287 --> 00:17:15.205 you know, are driven by emotion, 00:17:15.247 --> 00:17:18.208 and some acts of lawlessness, really. 00:17:18.250 --> 00:17:21.837 - Of course, pre-COVID and pre-takeover, 00:17:21.837 --> 00:17:23.255 our crowds here at Wrexham 00:17:23.297 --> 00:17:25.090 were somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 00:17:25.132 --> 00:17:27.509 depending on how the team was performing on the pitch. 00:17:27.551 --> 00:17:30.679 Now that we do have these new high-profile owners, 00:17:30.721 --> 00:17:32.139 the crowd has pretty much doubled. 00:17:32.181 --> 00:17:35.559 You know, so we're just under 10,000 week in, week out, 00:17:35.601 --> 00:17:37.936 which is fantastic to see, great for the club, 00:17:37.978 --> 00:17:40.105 but unfortunately, you know, 00:17:40.105 --> 00:17:43.108 that element of people who wanna cause problems 00:17:43.108 --> 00:17:45.819 seems to have also been attracted with it. 00:17:54.244 --> 00:17:56.080 Let's keep that going. 00:17:56.830 --> 00:17:58.707 Let's not spoil it. 00:17:58.707 --> 00:18:01.543 There's no place for violence anywhere. 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:40.874 Bread, if you want it. 00:18:41.583 --> 00:18:43.627 - How long will this take? - 10 minutes. 00:18:43.794 --> 00:18:46.755 I don't see what the fascination is with it. 00:18:47.339 --> 00:18:49.174 Why would you want to get hurt? 00:18:49.424 --> 00:18:51.218 And why would you want to hurt 00:18:51.635 --> 00:18:53.011 someone else over football? 00:18:53.053 --> 00:18:55.764 I don't understand. I don't get it at all. 00:19:02.354 --> 00:19:04.606 Yeah. - What were you thinking? 00:19:05.357 --> 00:19:07.025 - Yeah. 00:19:08.110 --> 00:19:09.903 It affects the relationship because 00:19:09.945 --> 00:19:13.782 we're arguing about it, he's lying to me. 00:19:13.824 --> 00:19:15.200 I'm always checking up on him when he's there 00:19:15.242 --> 00:19:18.036 'cause I'm thinking, what's he doing? 00:19:18.078 --> 00:19:20.247 I don't--which ones-- 00:19:20.873 --> 00:19:23.083 I just hope he'll start behaving himself 00:19:23.125 --> 00:19:24.877 when his ban's lifted so we can be 00:19:24.918 --> 00:19:27.379 a bit more of a normal couple. 00:19:27.421 --> 00:19:28.922 Well, there you go, guys. 00:19:28.922 --> 00:19:30.048 Oh, thank you very much. 00:19:30.090 --> 00:19:31.049 - Well, it wasn't just me. 00:19:31.091 --> 00:19:32.634 It was Steph as well, really. 00:19:32.676 --> 00:19:35.053 - I helped her. - Oh, thank you. 00:19:35.095 --> 00:19:36.847 They don't want to change. 00:19:36.889 --> 00:19:38.640 If they're only changing for you, 00:19:38.682 --> 00:19:41.143 then they're never gonna properly change. 00:19:41.143 --> 00:19:43.103 They need to want to change themselves, I think, 00:19:43.145 --> 00:19:44.855 or do it for themselves. 00:19:44.855 --> 00:19:46.064 If he's like, "Oh, I'll change. 00:19:46.106 --> 00:19:47.858 If we had a kid, I'd be different." 00:19:47.900 --> 00:19:49.359 Well, I'm not taking the chance to have a child 00:19:49.401 --> 00:19:51.904 just on the off-chance you might change. 00:19:51.904 --> 00:19:53.405 Yeah, I'm looking to do a career change myself 00:19:53.405 --> 00:19:55.115 to go into the police. 00:19:55.157 --> 00:19:57.326 I got offered the job as a detective. 00:19:57.367 --> 00:19:58.827 And it was hard work. 00:19:58.869 --> 00:20:00.704 There were so many tests and interviews. 00:20:00.746 --> 00:20:03.123 And I didn't think I'd ever get the job. 00:20:03.165 --> 00:20:04.791 And I got the job. 00:20:33.987 --> 00:20:36.698 I can't carry on like this. 00:20:36.740 --> 00:20:38.367 I just don't want a boyfriend 00:20:38.408 --> 00:20:40.410 that's getting in trouble with the police, 00:20:40.452 --> 00:20:42.454 and I just find it embarrassing. 00:20:42.496 --> 00:20:46.250 I genuinely don't think he ever thinks I'll leave. 00:20:46.291 --> 00:20:48.252 If he gets in trouble with the police again, 00:20:48.293 --> 00:20:51.338 then that will-- that'll be--that'll be it. 00:20:59.054 --> 00:21:01.932 We'll win games. We'll lose games. 00:21:01.974 --> 00:21:03.892 I understand those 00:21:03.934 --> 00:21:07.020 absolutely heartbreaking rules of football. 00:21:07.062 --> 00:21:09.147 But the real battle here is not on the pitch. 00:21:09.189 --> 00:21:11.358 It's in the town. 00:21:11.358 --> 00:21:13.777 - We pride ourselves here on welcoming visitors, 00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:16.280 um, and people coming here having good-- 00:21:16.321 --> 00:21:17.489 great experience at the town center, 00:21:17.531 --> 00:21:19.074 good experience at the ground, 00:21:19.116 --> 00:21:20.492 you know, win or lose, 00:21:20.534 --> 00:21:23.453 shake hands at the end and you carry on, you know? 00:21:23.453 --> 00:21:25.163 And if we're unable to improve things 00:21:25.205 --> 00:21:26.456 for the people of Wrexham, 00:21:26.456 --> 00:21:30.794 if we're unable to inspire them to a better future, 00:21:30.794 --> 00:21:33.005 that's a real loss 00:21:33.005 --> 00:21:35.465 'cause that's a human loss. 00:21:35.507 --> 00:21:38.343 And it could be felt for generations. 00:21:38.385 --> 00:21:40.304 You don't get another chance at it 00:21:40.345 --> 00:21:43.223 next Saturday or next Tuesday.