World Cup and Passport Restrictions

Traditionally an English football campaign is accompanied by a large private army of tatooed thugs intent on smashing up whatever country England are playing in (home matches are not excluded). However in Japan and Korea this did not happen - the question is why?

The police were quick to claim credit for their 'intelligence' but this is unlikely. The police try and identify troublemakers travelling to all England matches with minimal success.

There was also talk that highly trained all female ninja police death squads would deter the hooligans. Again this seems unlikey as the hooligans want a fight and all female ninja death squads would seem to have added allure - not less.

No, the truth is that Japan and Korea are a long way from England so that only educated people who could afford inter-continental flights and Japanese levels of hotel expense could afford to go. Thus the brutish lower classes and the unemployed were forced to stay at home with their downloaded images of tentacle sex and bukkake being their only links with oriental culture whilst the educated English gent and his good lady wife were able to creditably represent their country when abroad.

This begs the question - why aren't passports restricted to those who deserve them? People who can only afford a cheap ferry ticket to France are likely to be indulging in illegal activities and should be prevented from travelling. Only those that can demonstrate some wealth should be allowed to leave these shores. Even better the proletariat should be shipped off to some part of the UK where there disgusting behaviour would not be noticed.

	Not long ago ... (none / 0) (#1)
	by Anonymous Reader on Sun Jun 23rd, 2002 at 01:01:17 PM PST

	Not long ago we were blessed by such laws, at least in some advanced countries, but nowadays the liberalism is attaining new highs, while the moral continues slipping lower and lower. In these times, you wouldn't have a passport unless you had some very serious thing to do abroad. And in the more strict nations, you needed a passport for national journeys. Never, no never, did we hear anything about thugs or whatever in these lands or from these lands. So what happened my buddah, I mean my buddy? Communism collapsed.

	the thing you claim to be a communist phenomen (none / 0) (#3)
	by Anonymous Reader on Sun Jun 23rd, 2002 at 02:48:21 PM PST

	is rather a feodal phenonem´. don´t meddle with what you don´t know

	Oh dumbass... (5.00 / 1) (#5)
	by tkatchev on Sun Jun 23rd, 2002 at 10:35:56 PM PST

	Passports and visas were invented sometime in the 19th century. Before that, the only thing you had to worry when travelling was highway robbers. -- Peace and much love...

	sorry chap (none / 0) (#2)
	by Anonymous Reader on Sun Jun 23rd, 2002 at 02:43:13 PM PST

	the reason is that the hooligans don´t have permission to leave uk... and the english cops has em held up..

	So you have (none / 0) (#4)
	by Amitabh Bachan on Sun Jun 23rd, 2002 at 05:03:33 PM PST

	fallen victim to police propoganda. The police make these wild claims whenever England play abroad but hooliganism still occurs. The only reason that no misbehaviour happened is because the far east quite sensibly prices itself out of the league of your typical oik.

	you don´t get do you (none / 0) (#6)
	by Anonymous Reader on Mon Jun 24th, 2002 at 01:33:50 AM PST

	these hooligans isn´t bums or things like that theý´re alcoholics from the middle class and most of em are 18 year olds livin at home. the english cops has the hooligans better listed than the cia has their staff listed

	not so different (none / 0) (#7)
	by Mr Somebody on Mon Jun 24th, 2002 at 03:34:11 AM PST

	Japan & England, for all the differences in culture, do have quite a few similarities: both are constitutional monarchies, who've been known to flirt with imperialism in the past, both are relatively small islands, just off the coast of Eurasia - albeit on different sides of it! And both have been known in their time for having good manners/repressed emotions, and enjoying a nice cuppa tea. bearing this in mind, out two great nations are bound to get along together! Contrary to M. Bachan's reports, the noble English working man was very evident in Japan, and behaving himself! I even saw some worshipping at a shinto shrine on the telly. Warms the cockles of my heart, it does.

	Actually, (none / 0) (#8)
	by Anonymous Reader on Mon Jun 24th, 2002 at 04:46:57 AM PST

	it was only William Adams who behaved himself in Japan. He even learned the language. The East India Company merchants, however, behaved like louts, and were summarily kicked out.

	I have no problem (none / 0) (#9)
	by Amitabh Bachan on Mon Jun 24th, 2002 at 05:24:40 AM PST

	with the noble English working man - it is the hordes of ignorant savages that usually attend England matches, who were notably absent form Japan, that I rail against.

	You'll have to excuse me. (none / 0) (#10)
	by hauntedattics on Mon Jun 24th, 2002 at 05:51:32 PM PST

	I'm still ruminating on the thought of poor little depressed, delicate Marc Almond as a "tattooed thug." Tattooed, yes. Thug, no. What, does he sing "Loving You, Hating Me" as he beats up on unsuspecting policemen and old ladies? Ahem Over myself now. Carry on as per usual.