Unit 1a, Hooligans Listening comprehension

Script of Polish hooligans

Welcome once again. All eyes are on the Germany-Poland game I think. If there is to be trouble, at this World Cup, it could well be this game that triggers it all off. The fear is that Poland's proximity to Germany will make it almost impossible to stop troublemakers coming to the World Cup. And to find out why Poland suffers from this particular affliction, the programme has been to meet a Polish hooligan before he travelled to Germany.

"I'm 29 years old, I'm a sales representative in a company and football is my only interest since 1987, so almost 20 years. The first time I got involved in a fight, when I went to see a game, well it didn't look like anything was going to happen. Some supporters from the opposite team just attacked us. We fought back. The fight started. It just happened. But proper fights have been part of my life since I became an adult. Friends just encourage their mates and that's how one gets involved in it. First of all the fights take place between fans from different clubs. They want to show who's the best. There's a sort of hooligans 'league with clubs involved in fights. When two of the clubs fight, the winning one goes up the table. So it's a list of those who've taken part in a fight, who've won, and it shows who's the best. Generally each club has its supporters. Some of them are just groups of hooligans travelling around just for the fighting. They haven't got really much to do with the football games. And then there are some who are regular supporters and nothing else. It's obvious that Poland's relations with some other countries aren't too good because of our history, our past. So it may happen one way or the other, and provocation can result in a bigger fight. I love my club and I'm for them, good or bad. I usually take my four-year old son with me to the match, but only home games. I'm still concerned about his safety.”

Food for thought there from