STUDY OF VIOLENCE AMONG BASKETBALL FANS IN BULGARIA

ABSTRACT Basketball in Bulgaria has the image of an “intellectual” sport. The lack of serious incidents of violence among fans in the National Championship is the reason for the absence of a definition of the phenomenon as an important issue on the political agenda of the institutions. However, there are some cases of violence caused by “migrating” football fans in basketball. The main objective of the empirical study was to identify the main factors and causes of aggressive and violent behavior during the national championship games. A structured thematic survey among 704 basketball fans from nine of the top basketball teams was conducted. The main criterion for respondent selection in the survey sample is he or she has attended at least 30 percent of the home games of the team they support. Among the leading reasons for visiting basketball games of the favorite team stand out: meeting the needs of leisure and entertainment (66%), the love of basketball (56%), building up and maintaining social relationships with friends (45%), the attractive team play (41%). As it becomes clear, visits to basketball games are dictated by social and cultural reasons (mostly value- and consumer orientated). Typical for basketball fans in Bulgaria is their interest mainly in team sports, as only 56% attend basketball games. Leading causes for the manifestation of aggressive/ violent behavior on behalf of the fans most often are sought in external factors such as referees’ decisions (68%); provocations by rival fans (51%) and excessive alcohol use (45%). The identified causes fall among the group of situational, related to the specific context of the match, and not related to structural, political or cultural-determining factors. Main participants and a reason for aggressive behavior are not always the traditional audience, but often this is due to parents of adolescent athletes, coaches, and players of certain teams. The study also provides practical guidelines for policy interventions.