“The fact that autobiographies of football hooligans have become so popular shows that the face of football violence is rapidly changing. And the further we go, the faster the culture of today’s hooliganism develops. And the further it goes, the more exciting it becomes for the participants. The temptation to become a member of a “firm” forces people to commit increasingly cruel acts, as a result of which “firms” grow, and the police need more and more efforts to neutralize them. The more police there are, the more dangerous the game, the more interesting it becomes for hooligans. This continues for many years. A vicious circle.

All this really scares me, and this book is entirely devoted to the development of football violence. It examines why and how these changes are happening and provides a fresh perspective on the problem of bullying, which has changed significantly over the past few years. More importantly, this book sets out my views on how this problem can be solved.”

Dougie Brimson

This text is the first translation of Dougie Brimson’s book “Barmy army” published in Russia "and is also known to the reader under the name "Football Hooligan 2001". There is another, later version of the translation of “Barmy army”, published by the publishing house “Amphora” under the name “Mad Army”.