Aston Villa Hardcore
Encyclopedia
Aston Villa Hardcore is a football hooligan
firm associated with the Premier League club Aston Villa
, based in Birmingham
, England
.
, while following Villa and England
. The firm still exists today, but, like all hooligan firms, they have been marginalised. The Hardcore have clashed a number of times with city and fierce rivals, the Birmingham Zulus
, associated with Aston Villa's fiercest rivals Birmingham City
.
Fifteen people were arrested in October 2002 in a series of dawn raids in connection with serious disorders committed in the Rocky Lane area of Aston
before the game between Aston Villa and Birmingham City in September 2002, in what was described as the "Battle of Rocky Lane". In 2004 one member, Steven Fowler, a Category C hooligan, was jailed for six months for his part in the fight in 2002. In 2005 he received a twelve month jail sentence and was banned from attending football matches for ten years, for his part in an organised brawl between the Villa Hardcore and Chelsea Headhunters
at King's Cross
in London on 27 March 2004, while five other Villa fans were also jailed. One of them was Steven Fowler, who already had a string of convictions for football related violence to his name, and was jailed again in 2006 when he and 57 other people were found guilty of their involvement in a riot at a Handsworth
pub on 22 August 2004 - the same day as Villa's Premier League clash with local rivals West Bromwich Albion
.
In November 2006 a planned launch of the book Villains about the various Aston Villa hooligan firms, which included details of clashes with the Birmingham Zulus, which was due to be held at Sensations Club in the Balsall Heath
area of Birmingham, had to be cancelled due to threats that the Zulus would turn up and cause trouble at the event. The Zulus were said to have taken exception to the launch of the book and the presence of rivals on what they considered "their territory".
In October 2008, Fowler, along with Michael Lutwyche released a book entitled Hardcore about the firm.
A younger wing of the firm has recently emerged under the banner "Hardcore Youth" with two members of the firm being banned in January 2010 from attending Aston Villa matches, being in the vicinity of Villa Park on match-days, and, when Villa are playing away from home, using trains to travel the country and from entering the relevant town-centre. The pair were branded as "ring-leaders" by police and also were made to pay a fine of £500 each in court.
In October and November 2010, Aston Villa played Birmingham City, at Villa Park
(Premier League, 31 October) and St Andrew's (Carling Cup, 1 December) and in both games violence between the two sets of supporters and hooligan firms occurred, with many fans being arrested. In the first game, there were scenes of violence outside Villa Park, with Villa fans throwing a flare
into Birmingham fans leaving Villa Park, there were a small amount of arrests including a Birmingham City club chef. In the second of the two games (and larger scale violence) after Birmingham had beaten Villa 2-1, Birmingham supporters invaded the pitch and confronted the visiting Villa fans, in retaliation Villa fans ripped out seats and hurled them into the Birmingham supporters, a flare was thrown from the Villa fans section into the Birmingham fans on the pitch, this was then traded between the two sets of fans, a Villa fan has since been convicted of this along with a number of other Villa fans who were picked out on CCTV after the game for offences, including the attack on a pub near St. Andrews frequented by Birmingham City supporters by Villa hooligans. There were also flash points before and after the game, the events were described as a "warzone" by a supporter who attended the game. As a result of these incidents, Birmingham City Council
along with West Midlands Police
decided to restrict Villa's ticket allocation for the return Premier League game at St. Andrews in January 2011.
On 13 August 2011, the Birmingham Mail
published an appeal for information after several Villa fans seriously vandalised a train taking Villa supporters to Birmingham New Street after Villa's friendly match away against Derby County
on 3 August. The destruction included tray tables being ripped from the backs of seats, seat coverings being damaged and lights being smashed. The damage meant the train had to be taken out of service for 24 hours for repairs.
, which documents 4 overseas police officers introduction to British crime and policing, was set in Birmingham and covered the violence that occurred at the game between Birmingham City and Aston Villa on 1 December 2010.
In April 2011, a DVD
was released with the title Aston Villa Hardcore Lads, the 70 minute long DVD shows footage of the Hardcore involved in violence with rival hooligan firms, for example fans of Oxford United
, West Bromwich Albion
and various clashes with fans of Birmingham City. The DVD also includes pictures of Aston Villa hooligans and sections where Villa's rivals are ridiculed.
Football hooliganism
Football hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...
firm associated with the Premier League club Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, based in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Background
The firm have been active since 1993, following on from previous Aston Villa hooligan firms the Steamers, C-Crew and Villa Youth. The Hardcore have been involved in some high-profile hooligan fights in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, while following Villa and England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
. The firm still exists today, but, like all hooligan firms, they have been marginalised. The Hardcore have clashed a number of times with city and fierce rivals, the Birmingham Zulus
Birmingham Zulus
The Birmingham Zulus are a football hooligan firm associated with English football club, Birmingham City. The Zulus first appeared in the late 1970s to early 1980s and the name came from a chant of "Zulu, Zulu" which was aimed at Manchester City fans in 1982...
, associated with Aston Villa's fiercest rivals Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
.
Fifteen people were arrested in October 2002 in a series of dawn raids in connection with serious disorders committed in the Rocky Lane area of Aston
Aston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
before the game between Aston Villa and Birmingham City in September 2002, in what was described as the "Battle of Rocky Lane". In 2004 one member, Steven Fowler, a Category C hooligan, was jailed for six months for his part in the fight in 2002. In 2005 he received a twelve month jail sentence and was banned from attending football matches for ten years, for his part in an organised brawl between the Villa Hardcore and Chelsea Headhunters
Chelsea Headhunters
The Chelsea Headhunters are an English football hooligan firm linked to the London football club Chelsea.-Background:The Headhunters have rivalries with counterparts who follow other London teams, such as Arsenal, Millwall, Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham.There was widespread...
at King's Cross
Kings Cross, London
King's Cross is an area of London partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the London Borough of Islington. It is an inner-city district located 2.5 miles north of Charing Cross. The area formerly had a reputation for being a red light district and run-down. However, rapid regeneration...
in London on 27 March 2004, while five other Villa fans were also jailed. One of them was Steven Fowler, who already had a string of convictions for football related violence to his name, and was jailed again in 2006 when he and 57 other people were found guilty of their involvement in a riot at a Handsworth
Handsworth, West Midlands
Handsworth is an inner city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr. Handsworth was annexed to the county borough of Birmingham in Warwickshire in 1911...
pub on 22 August 2004 - the same day as Villa's Premier League clash with local rivals West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
.
In November 2006 a planned launch of the book Villains about the various Aston Villa hooligan firms, which included details of clashes with the Birmingham Zulus, which was due to be held at Sensations Club in the Balsall Heath
Balsall Heath
Balsall Heath is a working class, inner-city area of Birmingham, England. It is home to a diverse cultural mix of people and the location of the Balti Triangle.-History:...
area of Birmingham, had to be cancelled due to threats that the Zulus would turn up and cause trouble at the event. The Zulus were said to have taken exception to the launch of the book and the presence of rivals on what they considered "their territory".
In October 2008, Fowler, along with Michael Lutwyche released a book entitled Hardcore about the firm.
A younger wing of the firm has recently emerged under the banner "Hardcore Youth" with two members of the firm being banned in January 2010 from attending Aston Villa matches, being in the vicinity of Villa Park on match-days, and, when Villa are playing away from home, using trains to travel the country and from entering the relevant town-centre. The pair were branded as "ring-leaders" by police and also were made to pay a fine of £500 each in court.
In October and November 2010, Aston Villa played Birmingham City, at Villa Park
Villa Park
Villa Park may mean:United Kingdom* Villa Park, an association football stadium in Birmingham, EnglandUnited States* Villa Park, California, a small city in Orange County* Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County...
(Premier League, 31 October) and St Andrew's (Carling Cup, 1 December) and in both games violence between the two sets of supporters and hooligan firms occurred, with many fans being arrested. In the first game, there were scenes of violence outside Villa Park, with Villa fans throwing a flare
Flare (pyrotechnic)
A flare, also sometimes called a fusee, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for signalling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian and military applications...
into Birmingham fans leaving Villa Park, there were a small amount of arrests including a Birmingham City club chef. In the second of the two games (and larger scale violence) after Birmingham had beaten Villa 2-1, Birmingham supporters invaded the pitch and confronted the visiting Villa fans, in retaliation Villa fans ripped out seats and hurled them into the Birmingham supporters, a flare was thrown from the Villa fans section into the Birmingham fans on the pitch, this was then traded between the two sets of fans, a Villa fan has since been convicted of this along with a number of other Villa fans who were picked out on CCTV after the game for offences, including the attack on a pub near St. Andrews frequented by Birmingham City supporters by Villa hooligans. There were also flash points before and after the game, the events were described as a "warzone" by a supporter who attended the game. As a result of these incidents, Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
along with West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...
decided to restrict Villa's ticket allocation for the return Premier League game at St. Andrews in January 2011.
On 13 August 2011, the Birmingham Mail
Birmingham Mail
The Birmingham Mail is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, UK but distributed around Birmingham, The Black Country, Solihull, Warwickshire and parts of Worcestershire and Staffordshire. The newspaper, which was re-branded from the Birmingham Evening Mail in October 2005, is one of the biggest...
published an appeal for information after several Villa fans seriously vandalised a train taking Villa supporters to Birmingham New Street after Villa's friendly match away against Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
on 3 August. The destruction included tray tables being ripped from the backs of seats, seat coverings being damaged and lights being smashed. The damage meant the train had to be taken out of service for 24 hours for repairs.
In popular culture
On Sunday 10 April 2011, an episode of Police Academy UK, a TV show aired on BBC ThreeBBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
, which documents 4 overseas police officers introduction to British crime and policing, was set in Birmingham and covered the violence that occurred at the game between Birmingham City and Aston Villa on 1 December 2010.
In April 2011, a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released with the title Aston Villa Hardcore Lads, the 70 minute long DVD shows footage of the Hardcore involved in violence with rival hooligan firms, for example fans of Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...
, West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
and various clashes with fans of Birmingham City. The DVD also includes pictures of Aston Villa hooligans and sections where Villa's rivals are ridiculed.