Episode 2 Football Fight Club

This programme contains very strong language

Chelsea versus Paris St Germain at Stamford Bridge...

one of the most glamorous fixtures in world football...

THEY CHANT IN FRENCH

..beamed to hundreds of millions worldwide.

With football worth over £20 billion a year,

this is the image they want to sell to the world...

SIRENS WAIL

..but there's a darker element lurking close to the surface.

CLAMOURING AND SCREAMING

Last year, we revealed the world of the football youth firm.

The secret clashes held well away from stadiums and CCTV.

This is when you find out whether you're a football fan

or you're just a civilian.

It's group violence, it's not one-on-one up the pub.

But last season, it became more brazen and more public -

with fighting even breaking out inside the stadiums.

If anything did kick off, I would stand, I wouldn't run.

The firms have become more confident.

THEY CHANT

Football violence is like heroin.

Once you've had a hit, you're just looking for the next buzz.

When they see me marching towards them, going nuts,

they start thinking, "Hold tight, what have we got ourselves into?"

They're even fighting more on our transport network.

Football's European governing body

warns of a return to hooliganism's dark days.

EXPLOSIONS AND CHANTING

We are a pack, we're a family unit.

That's what the Wolves are.

In this film, we follow the new generation

making a name for themselves...

Everyone knows, you're looking for trouble, you're going to get it.

..and seeing how life has fared

for those who've already made their mark...

There's a lot goes on between English firms and other firms.

-A pal of mine...

-HE LAUGHS

..he got stabbed up his arse.

..to see just how far the rules of Football Fight Club

have now changed.

Girls are supposed to go out and do girlie stuff - I don't.

The West Midlands is one of football's hotbeds.

With six clubs all within a 30-mile radius,

the region is home to some of the most active

youth firms in the country.

This here, this is my flat.

This is where, when I came from Stoke,

this is where I came.

Look, see that there?

See that on the wall?

They're my initials, CD.

I probably done that when I was about nine.

For Wolverhampton Wanderers fan

and father-of-two Denny,

fighting's always been a way of life.

I was, like, the only black geezer in the whole school.

My mum always made sure I defended myself.

If I came home crying, she would send me back out.

She'd be like, "Go outside and fight your battle,"

you know what I mean? It's always been like that.

So, when I moved to Wolverhampton,

it was just like second nature.

This area's got... It has got a gang problem.

When I was around 13,

two of my friends getting killed,

like, due to knife crime, you know what I mean?

It's an easy progression to go to gang violence.

I was only 14, 15 when I first started to sway

towards the football violence element of it.

I started to see these older lads

dressed nice, you know, the casual stuff.

I started to try and dress like them, you know what I mean?

And then when you start to dress like them,

you start wanting to be like them, as well.

You want something more, it was like a belonging.

Like, for me, to just get my season ticket,

get my hot chocolate at half-time

and then watch the game and walk out and go home was not enough for me.

I just need to do something extra.

The search for something extra

has seen Denny rise to become the top boy

at one of the country's most active youth firms...

..Wolves Youth, part of the Yam Yam Army.

Wolverhampton's a tough city, you know what I mean?

Everyone knows, you come to Wolverhampton

and you're looking for trouble, you're going to get it.

If Cardiff come over, Stoke or whatever,

you know what I mean? We want them to say,

"Look, you can't take the piss in Wolves."

We present something here,

we represent Wolves,

-so you look after your town, you look after your

-BLEEP

-people, innit, so.

We are a pack, we're a family unit.

That's what Wolves are.

We're brothers in arms.

What harm do you think you do as a football lad?

Obviously, if you walk around in mobs of 100 through cities,

I can imagine it being a bit intimidating

for someone that doesn't know the culture.

CLAMOURING AND SCREAMING

It's clashes like this one, with the Birmingham Zulus Firm,

that have earned the Yam Yams their notorious reputation.

Since Denny started, at the age of 14,

the Firm has evolved to embrace members from all walks of life.

People can see us as straight scumbags, you know what I mean?

But we're far from it.

I've got lads that come with us

that are firefighters,

teachers,

professional people.

Everyone's got that same hunger, that same desire.

Wolves Youth have a reputation

for taking the fight on the road...

at every opportunity.

Yeah, we are known for travelling away. We always travel away.

How many teams take 100 to Millwall?

THEY SPEAK OVER EACH OTHER

No-one turns up in Millwall.

There remains one big awayday ambition

that Denny has yet to achieve -

taking on a European firm.

That would be, like...

Well, it would be one thing I would like to tick off in my life,

you know what I mean?

But of the 92 clubs in England,

only seven get to play in Europe.

Wolves haven't been there since 1972.

The only way Denny can realise his ambition

is to be invited along as a guest by another firm.

The number of match-day arrests may have gone down,

but last season saw a significant rise

in football disorder INSIDE the stadiums.

In February, police came under attack

when 200 Millwall fans tried to storm into the home section

at Rotherham United.

A month later,

violence broke out between Leeds and Blackpool fans...

..and nine were arrested for fighting

during a League Two clash between Rochdale and Oldham.

Even the Premier League,

where clubs spend over £10 million a year on policing,

has not been without incident.

INDISTINCT CHANTING

Tottenham Hotspur home to West Ham

is one of London's most bitterly contested derbies.

INDISTINCT YELLING

Despite the heavy police presence,

just before kick-off, rival fans clash right outside the ground.

INDISTINCT CENSORED YELLING

Get in to him!

For the past 10 years,

one 25-year-old has been at the heart of battles like this.

Two bits of historical places of interest for me.

The hospital where my daughter was born,

and Gart's prison, where I spent my last prison sentence.

How long were you inside for?

For the last time, three months inside there.

Was that football related?

Football related, yeah.

My daughter was born in this hospital here.

May the 11th, the day I got my first banning order,

and I was in court in the morning.

Dante spent his youth rising up the ranks

to become one of Spurs' top boys.

Leading them into countless clashes,

like this street battle against Brighton.

INDISTINCT CLAMOUR

He may have served three prison terms for football violence,

but he's now trying to keep on the straight and narrow.

It is what it is, innit?

I've got to take it on the chin, but, obviously, when I come out,

I said, "I'm not going to make the same mistakes."

So, no more prison, then?

Know what I mean? You can never say, "No, never."

Hopefully, I can keep my nose completely clean.

They've had enough of my young years,

out of me in the justice system.

Despite his desire to change,

fighting has always been a huge part of Dante's life.

So, that's where I got my first beating

at the bottom of that tower block -

I got battered, you know, in a fight.

I got absolutely weighed in and I got home and got told off by my mum,

I had to go out and fight the geezer about two weeks later.

In order to stay away from the Firm,

Dante thinks he's come up with a plan.

-You all right?

-Yeah, good. You?

All the way down.

-HE GRUNTS

-That's it.

HE ROARS

12, 13, 14...

Push it, push it.

I've been in prison three times

for football now.

I just want to, sort of, find a way to harness that aggression

and that, sort of, fighting skills that I've learnt

and to harness it in, like, a legitimate manner.

Dante's just been signed up

for his first professional mixed martial arts fight.

-Breathe, breathe.

-You know, if you get a few wins under your belt,

get noticed, if you pull in a good crowd,

you could make a bit of dough out of it.

Bend the legs, bend the legs.

To get his professional fighting career on track,

Dante's enlisted the help of local trainer Chris Power.

Do you feel that that your rep

helps you in your fighting, or...?

I don't know. It gives me a support,

but then firms I've done outside,

who ain't got the arsehole

to do nothing better to me, personally,

are going to be hoping that I lose.

With his first fight in just three weeks,

Dante is going to have to rely heavily

on his ten years in the Firm.

Come on!

I was fucking built to be a football hooligan.

The whole just going into another mob, the adrenaline,

your heart's just going...

HE MIMICS THUMPING

..and it's like, "yes!"

The only way I can explain it is,

if you've got a proper, like, glamour model, like massive tits...

-HE LAUGHS

-..lovely arse and you've been trying

to pull her for about a month...

-So, the chase?

-Yeah, and you finally get hold of her

and you're just about to bolt your load and as that row happens,

that is you... That is you, like, ejaculating

HE LAUGHS

It's like, "Yes!"

Every other row I've ever had in my life,

if someone's pissed me off, I'll just go and smash them straight away

or if I'm not going to go and smash them,

I go and have it out with them,

but I will go and deal with that problem instantly.

Whereas this is like... It's been going on for ages.

You know it's coming and even, like, now...

You just want to turn up and just do it, do you know what I mean?

When was the last time you had a fight?

-What, in real life, or...? What do you mean, like?

-Yeah.

What, football, or...?

Whatever.

When's the last time you actually felt like you had a fight?

No comment.

No comment.

I'm a reformed character.

While Dante might be struggling to leave the world of the firm...

..400 miles away, in the small Scottish town of Hamilton,

someone else is just starting their journey.

Girls are supposed to go out and do girl stuff - I don't.

17-year-old Brogan is studying to do law at University...

..but at the weekends, she runs with the Accies Casual Force -

the youth firm of Hamilton Academicals.

Welcome to paradise.

This is where it all happens.

Where are we?

Hamilton Academicals.

New Douglas Park.

Hamilton are one of the smallest clubs

in Scottish football's top flight.

This is where I go to get in.

In there is section A,

that's where we sit.

You can only get in that section if you're cool enough.

I decide.

Up until now, football firms have been an exclusively male world.

What is it you love about it?

The excitement, the adrenaline.

Just... Dress the same,

listening to the same music,

you're on the same wavelength.

You feel part of something.

If it did kick off, then I wouldn't run,

I definitely wouldn't run.

Do you get a buzz when it does happen?

Oh, aye.

It's a weird feeling, but, you know...

You want the... Aye, it does, it's a buzz.

Traditionally, girls have been kept on the periphery of football firms,

dismissed by the boys as "groupies" or "hooligan hoes."

What's the deal with you and boys?

Have you got a boyfriend?

No.

Nope.

I don't want one.

Why?

I think they hold you back.

Saying that, they never stop texting me.

-Who?

-The boys.

How many boys have been texting you today?

Oh, I couldn't count.

I couldn't recall it.

That many. My phones broke. My phone's broke with it all.

Do you ever gets boys hitting on you at the football?

I think they all fancy me,

but I don't think anybody would ever try it.

I think boys find me a bit wild,

which isn't a bad thing,

know what I mean?

I like being wild.

It's this wild side that worries her mum, Joanne.

It's the other people,

like, the casual side of it...

Because Brogan really is the only girl that goes there,

if boys approach her and she's not going to be...

I don't know, I just feel as if...

That side of it, I don't like.

They think, "Oh, look at her,

"she's one of the Hamilton Accies Casuals."

That's the bit I, kind of, worry about.

You're just not going to tell Brogan not to do anything,

because she's going to do it.

I just be me, do you know what I mean?

I'm just being me, I'm not being fake for anybody.

I can handle myself,

but if anything did kick off, it's out of my hands.

I cannae do it anything about it. If I'm there, I'm there.

I still... I would stand, I wouldn't run.

Brogan's life with the firm might just be beginning.

For Dante, after years as a top boy,

that life has got even more complicated.

He's just become a dad for the second time.

I ain't no good at this.

-Why?

-Because you can't have a baby looking sweet

and looking like their granny, do you know what I mean?

Would you let your little girl join a firm when she's older?

No, don't be silly.

I don't know. I wouldn't mind them going out with someone

if they was decent, from, like, the firm.

Obviously not anyone else's firm.

What if your daughter brings home, like, a West Ham fan?

It's not about a fan, innit?

It's about the way they conduct themselves.

They can support West Ham and not really talk about it that much,

and they might just like looking at their results, or something.

If they come in my face talking about West Ham constantly

and trying to have digs at Tottenham,

then they're not going to last long on the dinner table

before I stick a fork in their nose, or something.

It's not just family life forcing Dante to change his ways.

He's one of the 1,800 people

currently serving a football banning order.

So, I'm banned till 2020, like,

and obviously that's the centre of London,

this is Tottenham Hotspur football ground, that's the fortress.

So I'm banned from a two-mile radius.

When are you banned from there, then?

Six hours before the game, six hours after.

So I'm not allowed within that zone, Tottenham, there, yeah?

All right, I'm also banned from Queens Park Rangers Football Club.

I've got the Wembley one, I'm not allowed there from round here,

up here, up through Kilburn,

covers this sort of area...

It's not just stadiums that Dante's banned from.

So, basically, it'll be one mile of King's Cross

and also one mile of Euston.

So one mile of Waterloo,

I've got one mile of Liverpool Street, Victoria Station...

This ain't got Luton on it, has it?

I'm banned from Luton as well.

It affects me massively. I mean, when I'm at work,

I can sometimes be in breach of my banning order,

cos we're playing during the week,

like, we can play on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,

you know what I mean?

Even a Thursday, if Tottenham are playing in Europe on a Thursday.

I'm not saying that I ain't sort of, like, been naughty -

everyone knows that I've been mischievous and caused aggro,

but I've done my bit of porridge, I've done my time behind the door.

There's probably a high chance that

I could breach that banning order at some point

and then I'm back to square one.

What happens if you breach a banning order?

Six months' jail, possibly, and a five-grand fine,

like, worst-case scenario.

Denny from the Wolves Yam Yam Army is on his way down to London.

Yeah, I'm just on the train now.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'll probably land in about, erm, about half an hour.

He's found an English firm that will allow him

to fulfil his ambition of an awayday against European opposition.

Yeah, then get off there and probably catch a taxi to the pub.

Football lads call this kind of arrangement "guesting".

Is it strange to be going to another club, to another team?

Yeah, cos I don't do that, you know what I mean?

A lot of firms have got affiliated with other firms, and that,

but I've never done that, you know what I mean?

If I've done anything, it's for Wolves

and only Wolves, you know what I mean?

But this is a bit different circumstances, you know what I mean?

By guesting, Denny may have a chance to test himself

against a firm from the Continent.

Last season saw violent clashes between rival fans and police

all across Europe.

SHOUTING

In Lille, Everton fans clashed with police and rival supporters.

SHOUTING

Greece's league was suspended due to persistent crowd violence.

In Germany, Frankfurt and Cologne firms fought running street battles.

I'm excited, like. I've got a bit of butterflies,

you know what I mean? It feels like something new, you know what I mean?

I don't know what to expect.

Do you think there'll be any trouble tonight?

I don't know. There's a possibility, you know what I mean?

In Scotland, 17-year-old Brogan is running late

for her pre-match meet.

Um...basically, Accies need to win this to finish top six.

I think they'll win, I'm saying 2-0.

I get a lot of grief, especially from men,

about how I should dress or if I dress like this, I am a casual.

When I'm with my pals, and I'm ready to go to the football,

and we're all wearing the same stuff, we'll get a police escort.

I don't know why I'm getting a police escort.

Brogan and the Accies Casual Force, the Hamilton youth firm,

have got all the local tongues wagging.

-The talk of the place the now.

-In what way?

How well do you know that world?

There's a lot of change in it now.

A different culture now.

It's... Obviously, when we were young,

there were no knives and...

Now, at football, they're using knives and all the rest of it.

You know what I mean?

This is when it all happens, the buzz.

It's time.

Come on, the Accies.

Denny's arrived in London.

He's now got to meet one of the top boys

from the firm he'll be guesting with later.

But it won't be the first time their paths have crossed.

-What's happening, mate?

-You all right?

-Yeah, man. How's it going?

-It's sorted.

The last time I saw him,

he was red in the face, you know what I mean?

He was growling at me.

We just sort of locked horns with each other

and I just think that, afterwards, like, there was,

like, I respected him. I think it goes both ways.

-Yeah, yeah.

-We both respected each other,

we both knew we was on our jobs that day.

Two years ago, these top boys brought their two youth firms

together for a fight, but to avoid the police,

it didn't happen at a Spurs-Wolves game.

They chose a mutual location in a quiet suburban town

and, bizarrely, a friendship was formed.

I've never been a fight where so many punches were thrown.

-Yeah.

-A there was a lot of punches for a short period.

Yeah. I'd say it was a good, you know what I mean, ten minutes,

and that's a long time, man, no police.

-Just people getting bit.

-Yeah.

-I was covered in blood

and I walked into this McDonald's,

with everyone eating their Happy Meals and Big Mac Meals

and I walked in and was, like,

"Where's the toilet? I need to clean myself up,"

everyone, like, half-eating their burger,

and, like, the Elephant Man just walked in.

Numbers got exchanged.

I got his number and I got his pal's number as well.

And we used to speak over BB,

that's when BB was kind of big then, you know what I mean?

Two young mixed-race lads into football riots -

that's quite a rare things these days,

especially with sort of, like, gang life taking over

sort of, like, mixed race and black culture.

There's not a lot of black lads or mixed-race lads

that go to football that are our sort of age any more, really.

With Dante banned from attending tonight's game,

he's going to introduce Denny to the other senior members of the firm.

I found out this fixture happened and I thought,

yeah, I'm going to get in touch with you

and try and line up some tickets,

-so I can see what Fiorentino are like, you know what I mean?

-Yeah.

Move round here and see what it's like.

-I want a little taste for it.

-Yeah.

The foreign teams are actually travelling nowadays,

so they probably will turn up tonight, so...

Yeah, I just saw about six of them

-on the train on the way down, you know what I mean?

-Yeah.

And where are they?

BOTH LAUGH

Denny heads off to the match,

but the other members of the Spurs firm

prevent any further filming from taking place.

Back in Hamilton, Brogan is on her way to meet up with

the boys from the firm before the match.

Go there.

But there's a problem.

The rival sets of fans have already clashed,

and the police have moved them on.

A few of the away team, their fans end up in the same place as them,

so the police had to move everybody.

From what I've heard, anyway.

I'm about to find out.

-Oi-oi!

-Oi-oi!

-What happened?

-What was that, with the police?

How are you doing?

She tells us a lot she should have been born a boy,

but Brogan's just one of us.

She dresses the same. She loves her football, loves a pint.

She's one of the lads.

She's been here since before I came,

and I came and she's welcomed me in and made me feel one of the lads.

# We're Hamilton FC... #

LYRICS INDISTINCT

THEY LAUGH

-Do you feel all right about it?

-ALL: Aye.

-Am I a good dresser?

-Brogan's no' bad.

What do you mean, no' bad?

THEY ALL LAUGH

I know which bus you get to school!

Do you think you boys would be quite protective over her?

Very. Very protective over Brogan.

It's a tight-knit community.

Accies are like a major family.

LYRICS INDISTINCT

'I love that buzz. I love the buzz.'

You know, even though I'm not going to get involved in any fighting,

I love the buzz that maybe that could happen.

'If I was a boy, I think I'd be ranked up high.'

I understand where they come from, do you know what I mean?

I understand the buzz, cos I meet them and they're all buzzing for it,

but because I am a girl, it does limit me,

do you know what I mean? I'm limited to what I can say and do.

THEY SING

So, what happened after I left you earlier?

We linked up with a couple of old-school Tottenham lads.

Anything happen outside the ground?

No, not to my... Not to my knowledge, no.

Although no trouble occurred at Tottenham,

one of the other group ties in Rome has seen Feyenoord fans

engage in running battles with riot police.

33 were arrested as they fought in the heart of the city centre.

SHOUTING AND BREAKING GLASS

SIREN WAILS

It looks like the police, you know what I mean,

are just trying to back them up

and trying to gain control, like, with some heavy-handed tactics.

Hmm. Looks pretty mad, you know?

The police in the UK are not using these tactics no more.

They used to be all in black boiler suits, faces were covered,

they had batons, you know what I mean?

You didn't know who it was, no badges or whatever,

and they were just...

They seemed like they was on it just as much as the lads,

you know what I mean?

I've experienced it first hand myself,

so everything what's going on there, you know what I mean,

I know that feeling, you know what I mean?

So, you think that this is you for the rest of your life?

I can't say I'm not going to... There's no way on this planet

I'm going to be the same as I was when I was 17.

But, you know what I mean,

I'm always going to have that in me, you know what I mean?

170 miles north, it's match day for one of the giants

of the premier league - Manchester City.

One of England's top clubs also has

one of the country's most notorious youth firms -

the Blazing Squad.

It's leader is Carl.

As their top boy, he's taken them on the road

against firms up and down the country.

Plaistow, that'd be a West Ham match back in 2010.

Stoke, '09, Wigan away.

Liverpool, Lime Street, away.

Stockport '07.

United away, yeah, that was a good one.

Barnsley, Stockport, another West Ham ticket.

It's not just I've got a picture, it represents that day.

Something might have happened that day.

It could be like you've had a big row that day, a big fight,

or even just you've had a laugh with your mates that day, or whatever.

SHOUTING

The Blazing Squad have been at the heart of street battles

like this one against arch rivals Manchester United.

But recent seasons have been a problem.

Banned, banned, banned and banned.

Carl's officially been banned for this season.

It just makes everything that little bit harder.

You have to go out of your way to do just little things like meeting up.

So you all live in different parts of town,

you have to go through town to get to where you going,

you're banned from the town, so it's just fucking about.

-It makes things that much harder.

-Do you miss it?

Yeah. Yeah, definitely, yeah.

But for Carl, at least, that's all coming to an end.

His ban is up in a few weeks

and he's off to get new gear in preparation for his return.

-Good to see you again, mate.

-You all right?

-Not bad at all.

I've got some nice City colours for you, mate,

if you're interested, yeah?

Some stuff over there. Fresh in today, this.

-Is that new in?

-New in, yeah.

Have you got...that with the yellow?

-No, it is due in, though.

-It's due in?

Yeah. Probably later this year, though, mate.

I thought you fancied...

Red's your favourite colour, though, ain't it? Being a City fan.

THEY LAUGH

So, are you staying out of trouble now, mate, yeah?

Trying to, yeah. Trying to.

It's a personal thing.

Some people, the clothes is the most important thing for them.

For me, part of being a football lad is the clothes and that.

Why's that?

It's about looking good and that.

No-one wants to be in a firm

and be known as looking like a tramp, sort of thing.

It's nice to look nice.

It separates us from normal fans,

what we call "shirts" or "scarves",

who wear the club clothes and the scarves and that.

We wear our own thing to separate us, sort of thing.

You can tell who's who.

Is it like an unofficial uniform?

You could say that, yeah,

cos another group of lads can tell another groups of lads out

like that, just through the clothes.

So if another firm is coming to your town that day, say,

from a fair distance, where you can spot...

"Yeah, that's a firm, there they are,"

without even being close enough to speak to them, sort of thing.

With just 11 days to go until Dante steps into the ring

for his first professional fight,

he's come to have a one-on-one session

with top boxing trainer Don Charles.

There's all different types of fighters.

Dante is a guy who likes to...

He likes a fight, naturally, yeah?

So the idea is for him to now do it for a living,

to fight and get paid for it, instead of fighting for nothing.

Yeah. Hence, why we're looking after these babies, you know, these hands.

These are your tools. To make you money.

Right, let's get it on.

That's good.

Again.

Control.

There. There. Good.

For Dante, the big challenge

is taming his inner football street fighter.

A previous amateur bout didn't go exactly to plan.

The last fight I was in, it was a charity do for one of our boys,

and I got in there and there was 900 Spurs supporters there,

all shouting like youths, going mental,

and I remember getting in there, my mate said to me,

"Oh, he's on your manor, he's taking the piss out of you,"

and a bit of my head was like,

"Yeah, he fucking is taking the piss out of me,"

and I just, for like a split moment, I thought I was at football.

My hands went down and I just screamed out at the top of my voice

"Come on, then, you cunt, let's have it."

HE LAUGHS

And his face was horrified.

I remember looking... My corner were like, "No!", like that,

and, um, yeah, I just went into him.

Course I fucking am!

HE GASPS AND GRUNTS

Time.

True Spurs.

HE GASPS

Across the country, a new hotspot is emerging.

Football fights are no longer hidden from public view.

They're spilling onto the nation's platforms, carriages and stations.

SHOUTING

According to the British Transport Police,

football-related incidents rose to over 600 last season,

like this clash between Chelsea and Spurs fans.

In January, Denny took the Wolves Yam Yam Army to Bolton for an awayday.

After the match, this footage emerged online of Wolves fans,

including Denny, being taunted by Bolton lads

as they waited for their train home.

JEERING AND SHOUTING

It's three months on, and Denny has been charged with

criminal damage relating to the train incident,

but refuses to talk about it on camera.

Tonight, he's out with another member of the firm - Junior.

Can you see that?

The original Zulu killers, cos we finished Birmingham's mob off.

With a court case looming,

Denny and also Junior are reassessing their commitment to the firm.

They're looking to join a new non-violent yet secretive group

known as WV1 - the Wolves Ultras.

The police are really hot on it now,

so a lot of lads are trying to start up ultra scenes.

It's like a higher level of supporting.

You are the ultras, you know what I mean?

You're taking it to the next level, cos your passion for that club

is like that much, you know what I mean?

Ultras started out in South America,

combining extreme politics and football,

before spreading to Europe.

While violence can play a part, most ultras favour graffiti,

banners and displays.

Denny and Junior are hoping this might wean them off

their love of violence.

Football violence is like heroin.

Once you've had a hit,

you're just looking for the next buzz, you want it again.

You want more and more and more.

For me, doing a little bit of graffiti is like methadone.

I have to let the animal out the cage now and again

but with my job, I'm a professional person,

so I can't be having people know who I am, you know?

My family don't know I do this,

people who I work with don't know I do this, I keep it all schtoom.

It's not something that I like to tell people about it,

but I do it for me.

Junior isn't the only one with something to lose.

With a young family to support, this brush with the law

has reminded Denny of a previous dark chapter in his life - prison.

I lost my mum while I was away.

Probably, like, about 17 months into my sentence,

so when it happened, I was broken, you know what I mean?

How did your mum feel

when you went to prison for football violence?

She was upset.

If you're going to consistently break the law,

you're going to have to pay the price.

Is it worth it?

There's other things that are similar, you know what I mean?

The things that are more positive,

the things that ain't going to get you jail, that you can do,

that can give you that buzz, you know what I mean?

Man City, like Chelsea and Spurs,

are one of the privileged English clubs

competing in Europe this season.

This gives their firm the chance of an awayday

in some of Europe's most glamorous locations.

# City! City! #

SHOUTING

At least for those who've not yet caught the authority's eye.

What is it?

It is a letter.

I can you who it's off by the London mark on it.

It's off the football banning orders people.

"Report on 26th or 27th March, any time,

"to Bury police station to surrender your passport.

"Failure to comply is a criminal offence that carries on conviction

"a term of imprisonment up to six months and/or a fine up to £5,000."

You know you're banned, so you don't forget, but you sort of...

maybe like a reminder of what you're missing out on, sort of thing.

If I weren't banned, yeah, I'd be going.

I'd make sure I was going there.

These rare European awaydays carry an extra edge.

There's a lot goes on between the English firms and other firms.

A pal of mine, he went away to Italy to watch his team

and a bit of trouble went on, and that, and he got stabbed.

-HE LAUGHS

-He got stabbed up his arse.

Of all the places to be stabbed, eh?

Carl doesn't have long to wait till he can join up

with the rest of his firm.

As part of the build-up,

he's continuing with his preparations for his return.

-Are you all right?

-Are you all right, mate?

What you getting done today, Carl?

Getting the old City badge on my forearm.

How many have you got now, then?

I think this will be number 15.

-15?

-This is number 15, yeah.

THEY ALL LAUGH

Ready, pal?

Yeah, I'm ready.

Have you been to any games recently?

HE LAUGHS

Not with this ban, no. I come off it soon, though.

How active have you been since you've been banned?

Not as active as I was before!

I've never really asked you what it is you enjoy about fighting.

You've put me on the spot here.

I don't know, really.

I just... I just like it, I'm good at it.

Do you like fighting, Luke?

Me? No, I'm a pacifist.

LUKE LAUGHS

-A lover not a fighter.

-Yeah.

My past is that I'm an ex-police officer.

That's my background.

Are you planning on doing it for a long while, Carl,

or do you see an exit?

I can't...

I can see myself calming down on it and not going as much,

but I don't think I could see myself ever not going at all.

Have you had any serious injuries?

Erm...just the usual, like your black eyes, your broken noses,

your cheekbones,

and the bad one was a brick on the head.

That was quite... That was a good few staples

and stitches on the head. That was a bad one.

No. Yeah, I'm happy with that, good, yeah. Nice one.

In Scotland, Brogan's mum Joanne is getting increasingly concerned

about her daughter's involvement with the Hamilton youth firm.

There's no lassies, Brogan, that go.

What happens if a fight breaks out?

You could be caught up in this thing, that's what worries me.

There's always going to be one person,

and you stick out like a sore thumb, and they're going to start,

"Look what she's wearing. Do you think you're a casual?"

If stuff was happening, it would be arranged

and people would go and do it elsewhere.

It wouldn't be just... Obviously, sometimes you come out the ground

and all the away fans around you are shouting to each other,

but if there is fighting nowadays, I think it's all arranged.

I think my mum mostly cares about me with 30, 40 boys,

cos it would be weird if my brothers were hanging out with 30, 40 girls.

Do you know what I mean? I think she finds that a bit intimidating.

I think she's scared when I'm in... especially places three hours away,

where she can't just come and get me, collect me.

You're going up to these places, up to Dundee, same as Motherwell.

You go to Motherwell, you know this is going to happen.

There's always going to be...

But I like knowing there's maybe something going to happen.

-You like knowing that?

-Aye, but I'm not involved, but I like knowing

maybe something's going to happen cos that's what the buzz...

It's going to happen with you, the people you're with,

so how do you get a buzz out of that?

You don't know until you're there

and if we're at the train station,

which always happens when the away fans are at the other side

and they start throwing stuff and that...

The buzz about it is just... That's the excitement.

I know my limits, I know,

right, I can't throw something back here.

I love knowing, "Oh, something might happen."

A leisure centre in Milton Keynes

is the venue for Dante's debut professional fight.

With 24 hours to go, the weigh-in will be

Dante's first opportunity to come face to face with his opponent.

That's your boy over there with the hood on.

Tomorrow, you're going to try and take his head off

and he's going to try and take your head off.

So, how you deal with it is down to you as an individual.

I've seen people win a fight at the weigh-in.

I've seen them come up to people, stare them down,

"Yeah, tomorrow, me and you, yeah," and I watch them melt.

-Next day, he's got nothing left.

-Yeah.

They melt them when they get there.

-So it's down to you as an individual how you handle it.

-Yeah.

Right, Marc Rawlinson.

APPLAUSE

Dante Bull.

APPLAUSE

Now, do you know the history of this man, first of all?

-No.

-Right, this man is a football hooligan.

-Is he?

-Yeah, and, um...

LAUGHTER

-How does that make you feel?

-I ain't bothered, mate.

No problem with you? What's your background?

No, I ain't got a background.

No background at all. How does that affect you?

It don't affect me.

You're getting done, mate. That's it, like, you know?

I just want to get it over and done with.

Also, I did speak to you in the car park.

He did tell me he was Gooner, as well, which is an Arsenal...

LAUGHTER

Get the picture in, quick.

Ladies and gentlemen, Dante Bull and Marc Rawlinson!

APPLAUSE

Well done, lads, that'll do us.

It was weird. I just wanted to attack him, you know what I mean?

I've never had that sort of experience

where someone's, like, squaring up to me and I've not belted them

in my life. So it was odd.

I just wanted to take his head off there.

He's up for it, I'm up for it, so let's get it on.

In Manchester, Carl is meeting up with one of City's old boys, Leon.

There's a very significant date approaching.

So, when's your ban up?

It's up... I think it actually ends in about five days.

So, what, three or four days after the last game of the season.

-Yeah.

-I've just gotta wait till fucking August.

You know, it's a fucking piss-take.

Do you think City's firm will still be up and running

when the season starts?

Yeah, I hope so. It's just a bit shit, though,

cos I'm coming off my ban,

but there's so many what have been put on one since,

so it never fucking stops, does it?

Forget all the cliches, I'm a changed man, I'm not going back.

CARL LAUGHS

Just get back.

THEY BOTH LAUGH

I got banned about 2001.

What was the ban for, then?

There was some plain-clothes police in Whitworth Park

and I thought they were... I thought they were Liverpool fans!

They were hanging around the monument

and me and a couple of me pals went over

and they shouted, "Undercover police," and then fucking got me.

And that was it. No soon has it started, it was over.

Yeah, bastards.

I don't care who you are, to pack it in full time,

there's always going to be moments over a duration of a season

where you're going to dip your toe in the water

because that's just how it is, you know?

There's still times when I've

looked out the window and seen something happening and thought,

"Aye-aye! I'd like to be a bit of a part of that,"

but there's been some times when I think, "Fuck it."

I suppose the question is,

are you actually going to go back to what you were doing last time,

when you come off your ban?

Um...

I mean, it's a tough one. It's like I'm off my ban,

I might just go out with all my mates and that.

Am I going to be involved to the level I was X amount of years ago?

Maybe not, but I'm still going to be about, sort of thing, yeah.

You know, pick and choose, sort of thing, pick and choose.

In Hamilton, with the season at an end,

17-year-old student Brogan finds herself at a crossroads.

I'd love that so much.

Can you ever imagine a time where you have to make a decision,

-"football or my career"?

-I think it's soon.

You can't be a lawyer and go to football with casuals on a Saturday,

that's the truth.

If I ever had to get involved in anything

and get a criminal conviction, I'd be devastated.

For Brogan to pursue her dream of studying law,

she's been told she needs a clean criminal record.

You can't have no convictions, no cautions, no court orders,

so if I did have convictions when I applied for this

or any court dates or anything like that, or any fines,

it would probably... I probably wouldn't get it.

If I'm jumping about football with people that are looking

for trouble and stuff, the wrong place, the wrong time,

you know what I mean? If something happens, it is so easy to get

picked up and the police do anything

they can - do you know what I mean? - to get somebody.

So, you don't think you'll be running around

with your casual friends in five years' time?

I'm going to put it behind me.

In Milton Keynes, it's fight night.

As a notorious top boy, Dante's one of the main attractions.

Coachloads of football lads have turned up.

All right, Dante, I need a word, right.

Phil, you're well respected in Tottenham, same as him.

-Our security can only look after your guys 50%, yeah.

-Yeah.

As your friend, right, I'm asking you guys,

-you've gotta be the other 50% for us.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah, no problem.

Do you think they're going to play up here?

-Course they're not going to play up.

-No?

They've got the boy to fucking sort 'em out, ain't they?

After a decade of fighting on the streets,

this is Dante's big chance to escape from the world of the firm.

-This is no football fight, this is a MMA fight, yeah.

-Yeah.

So bang, end of that jab, end of the jab.

When the time's right, the power one's there.

-Yes.

-All the basics. Don't do nothing fucking fancy.

No Superman punches from out here, no fucking kicks to the head.

None of that. Basics.

A sold-out crowd of 1,000 people have paid £30 a head...

..but, more importantly,

Dante will be fighting in front of 150 of his Spurs boys.

You've got five minutes, if that, all right?

He's going to come and get you, you're going to come in,

you're going to punch each other's lights out and have some fun, OK?

Please welcome your first fighter to the blue corner,

here comes Dante Bull...

MUSIC PLAYS

CHANTING

SHOUTING

Dante has made a promising start...

..but the fight barely makes it through the first round.

Everybody calm the fuck down!

Calm down!

Listen, if you're proper Tottenham fans,

you're getting behind your boy here and you'll stand back, yeah?

You're going to affect this boy's career.

Now, get back right now.

You boys get away from him and get to the other side!

I'm warning you.

Celebrity compere Alex Reid attempts to act as peacemaker.

Please kindly have a seat.

You guys are doing so well.

Tonight, he's fighting for real

and you guys are messing it up.

What I'm hearing is that someone went up

and said to a load of rowdy drunk people, "I'm a West Ham supporter,"

and what he actually done was threw a bottle.

Police are called in and they're able to finish the fight.

SHOUTING

KLAXON BLARES

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Your winner, fighting in the blue corner,

Dante Bull!

Dante may have won,

but it was hardly the trouble-free start to a new life

that he'd hoped for.

Hey, mate, after all that football hooligan shit, yeah,

you were probably the best-behaved person in there, yeah.

What happened halfway through that disrupted things?

It just kicked off, didn't it, in the crowd.

I don't think it was my lot, I think someone else caused trouble,

I don't know... Everyone got involved

and it all kicked off.

It's... I mean, I thought it was my lot at first

and I was getting a bit disappointed cos, obviously,

if I want to progress and get onto different shows,

then that's going to hinder me, you know what I mean?

How does that compare to a football fight...for you?

It's nowhere near the buzz.

Football violence is the greatest buzz you'd ever get in the world.

No drug or nothing, no rollercoaster, no...

No, nothing can compare to that.

For Dante, it's now going to be a waiting game

to see if he'll be trusted with another bout.