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I've recently been reading up on Continental football clubs and have noticed many clubs have affiliations with political groups and ideaologies. Admittedly most were mainly in Eastern Europe during commie times and other countries during dictatorships when political persecution was common so supporting a football team was the only way to express your own opinions.

Lazio fans = right wing facsists
Real Madrid = Francoists
Barcelona = socialists

Here's an article from the times about Lazio and Liverno

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2093-1552251_1,00.html

Are there any teams in this country which have traditionally been associated with politics? have politicians used football clubs for their own gain? Do people support a club purely because of ideaology? or vice versa?

If I was German I'd support this lot.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_St._Pauli#Supporters  

.....but I'm not so I don't

There aren't really any politically orientated clubs in England because our recent political past in not so divided as Spain, Italy, Germany, the Soviet bloc countries etc.

The majority of football fans in this country are probably centre-right, but none are particularly political.  Even though you would have found more BNP/NF/C18 at clubs like Chelsea/Leeds/Portsmouth, the far-right never really had a great deal of success recruiting at football matches.  Clubs more likely to lean to the left would be for example Manchester United, Arsenal and the Brum clubs.

bloddy hell Cookie you must be bored

Birmingham are a bit of a left wing club.

Just in Britain we know that radical politics is a load of bollocks. So why bother?

For what its worth Swindon are shit on the right wing, although Monkhouse on the left ain't too bad...  :wink:

I always thought Liverpool/Everton would be the most left wing club bearing in mind the politics of the city.

St Pauli sounds like the club I'd like to support yet it's only in the 80's they attracted this cult following, I wonder what triggered this.

Rangers and celtic ares political AND religious.
Political cos of the trouble in ireland, religious cos of the catholic/prodestant(sp)thing

Millom

:nuts:

If it aint political sam, then why do the celtic and rangers fans sing about the troubles in ireland? Ive been to ibrox and cletic for old firm games when i was a young un and witnessed it first hand so no, im not nuts

Millom

Millom is right, also alot of Irishmen support Celtic.

That's because Celtic are an irish fucking club.  Set up by the catholic church, as were Hibs, in the 19 hundreds.

It's brilliant that clubs like Celtic/Rangers/Hibs/Hearts/Dundee/Dundee Utd all have established roots, all supporters know the clubs heritage.

when Livorno were away to Roma on the first day of the season. Livorno got fined for bringing Natzi Flags in to the Curva Nord of the Stadio Olimpico.

Fucking hell!!  I never knew that!!  They do seem to have a bit of a problem down in Italy with the extreme right.

That's my sort of club.

"while St.Pauli fans often answer, in allusion to the Italian leftist Ultra scene, "Amburgo, Amburgo: Vaffanculo!" (Hamburg, Hamburg: go fuck off!)"

How I'd love to here the chant "Oxford Oxford (or Bristol, Bristol), vaffanculo" sung at the CG!!

Love the sound of that at Serie A games.

But Livorno like Che Guevara and communism, why would they bring Nazi flags in? to burn them?

The roma fans did the same thing against the same team earlier this year and were banned from playing in their own stadium for 1 game. That game was played in the rugby stadium i think against Caligari and roma won 4-3.