Gangster Presents... Hooligans

Gangster

BBC

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2025

⏱️ 4 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Former boxing champion and proud Evertonian Tony Bellew delves into the brutal world of football hooliganism. At its height in the 1970s and 1980s, it was labelled ‘the English Disease,’ a time when violence on the terraces was as much a part of the game as a half-time Bovril. Bellew hears from those who lived for the trouble, the men and women whose Saturdays weren’t complete without a brutal punch-up.

He speaks to the innocent victims caught up in the mayhem, the families of those who lost their lives at the hands of thugs, and the undercover police officers who risked everything to infiltrate some of England’s most notorious firms.

He also explores how government crackdowns, tougher laws, and the introduction of all-seater stadiums helped bring an end to widespread hooliganism.

Presenter: Tony Bellew Series Producer: Emma Forde Producer: Patrick Kiteley Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Development Producer: Holly Clemens Production Co-ordinator: Ellie Dover Assistant Commissioner: Lorraine Okuefuna & Sarah Green Commissioning Editor: Louise Kattenhorn Editor and Executive Producer: Carl Johnston

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	In today's digital world, it's easier than ever to invade someone's life and far harder to escape.
0:08.7	Anyone, determined enough to do harm, can find a way to do harm.
0:13.0	I'm Carol Cadwalader, an investigative journalist.
0:15.8	In this podcast, I followed a story of Hannah, whose life was turned upside down by an anonymous stalker.
0:21.6	I no longer know who I can trust.
0:23.6	What began as one woman's nightmare
0:25.9	became a chilling investigation
0:27.5	into deception, control,
0:29.6	and the faceless power of the internet.
0:32.3	Stalked.
0:33.3	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:36.4	BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.
0:40.6	It was about being there and being part of that 30,000 that was in the ground.
0:54.3	You're in amongst all the lads. You're getting pushed, you're getting pulled, you're getting shoved over.
1:00.3	I just very loving it.
1:02.0	Football is a game of passion and rivalry.
1:04.8	It was excitement.
1:06.0	Beer, adrenaline.
1:08.1	But decades ago, beneath the chance and the cheering, a dark side of the game emerged.
1:13.9	It was chaos. We battered them, they battered us.
1:17.9	Hooliganism, when football fans became fighters.
1:22.0	We hated them, we hunted them. It was a way of life.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.