The Archive

The problem of Paris Saint-Germain’s notoriously far-right supporters exploded when a policeman opened fire after a racist mob confronted fans of Hapoel Tel-Aviv. Nicolas Hourcade reports

Thursday November 23, 11pm, the Porte de Saint‑Cloud area of Paris, near the Parc des Princes. Paris Saint-Germain have just been humiliated 4-2 in the UEFA Cup by an average Hapoel Tel-Aviv team. The hardest PSG fans are running at opposing supporters. According to the initial results of the investigation, one of the Hapoel fans was being chased by a group of Parisians when a 32-year-old black man, only identified as a plain-clothes policeman, intervened. He tried to break up the group with tear gas. But in the face of their aggression he retreated, fell down, took out his gun and fired, killing one of his assailants and seriously injuring another. He sought refuge in a McDonald’s, which was then attacked by PSG fans screaming racist abuse until the police broke up the crowd.

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Jonathan Wilson, author of the acclaimed book Behind the Curtain, believe that eastern Europe’s hooliganism problem is real but exaggerated and reflects society’s wider struggles in an era of change

In the late 1970s, fans of Spartak Moscow, clad in red and white, would rampage through city centres and daub their slogans on walls. This season, their ultras have held aloft a giant banner sponsored by a vodka company. Such is the triumph of capital in Russia.

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Indoor football is largely a form of exercise in this country but, as Steve Menary reports, the version known as futsal is a sport in its own right abroad. Can the UK’s FAs catch up?

In three years, England have not won a game and only avoided defeat once. Even that was a 5-5 draw against Cyprus after being three goals ahead.

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It’s football, but not as we knew it. Andy Stevens assesses the rise of the five-a-side game as a serious – and profitable – business

Every month, more than 30,000 football enthusiasts descend on Derby’s Pride Park. But these aren’t fans going to watch a match at the stadium, they’re five-a-side footballers who are playing at the adjacent JJB Soccer Dome. The facility, which houses eight indoor and three outdoor pitches, is just one of many five-a-side venues that has opened during the past 20 years as the popularity of the sport increases.

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Soaring TV deals for Real Madrid and Barcelona have left the rest facing an ever greater struggle to compete. Phil Ball gets out his calculator and an impressive array of signal boosters and cable boxes

Just how much money does any one team need? Real Madrid’s projected deal with Telemadrid, timed to run from 2009 until 2013, would earn them across five years the equivalent of the gross national product of Mali. Who needs an Abramovich?

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