- Chelsea Headhunters
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The Chelsea Headhunters In Chelsea Years active 1970s
1995–present in present formTerritory West London, North west and south west London, home counties Ethnicity White British Membership 130-150 Criminal activities Football hooliganism, riots and fighting Allies Glasgow Rangers, Linfield, Brentford The Chelsea Headhunters are an English football hooligan firm linked to the London football club Chelsea.[1]
Contents
Background
The Headhunters have rivalries with counterparts who follow other London teams, such as Arsenal, Millwall, Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham.
There was widespread racism amongst the gang and links to various white supremacist organisations, such as Combat 18, and the National Front and to Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary organisations, such as the Ulster Defence Association and Ulster Volunteer Force.[1]
They were infiltrated by investigative reporter Donal MacIntyre for a documentary screened on the BBC on 9 November 1999, in which MacIntyre posed as a wannabe-member of the Chelsea Headhunters. He had a Chelsea tattoo applied to himself for authenticity, although the hardcore were surprised he chose the hated "Millwall lion" badge rather than the classic 1960s upright lion one. He confirmed the racist elements in the Headhunters and their links to Combat 18, including one top-ranking member who had been imprisoned on one occasion for possession of material related to the Ku Klux Klan.[2] The programme led to arrests and several convictions. One member of the Headhunters, Jason Marriner, who was convicted and sent to prison as a result of the show, has since written a book claiming to have been set up by MacIntyre and the BBC. He claims that footage was edited and manipulated, and 'incidents' were manufactured and they were convicted despite having no footage of them committing crimes.[3]
Nick Love's film, The Football Factory, presented the Headhunters in a fictionalized account.[4] The film focuses mainly on the firm's violent rivalry with the Millwall Bushwackers.
A high profile member of the firm is Kevin Whitton who was sentenced to life imprisonment on 8 November 1985 for violent assault after being found guilty of involvement in an attack on a pub on Kings Road which was described as being some of the worst incidents of football hooliganism ever witnessed in England. After Chelsea lost a match, Whitton and other hooligans stormed into the pub chanting "War! War! War!". When they left a few minutes later, with one of them shouting, "You bloody Americans! Coming here taking our jobs", the bar's American manager, 29-year-old Neil Hansen, was laying on the floor, close to death.[5] His sentence was cut to three years on appeal on 19 May 1986.[6] The fan responsible for the actual assault, Wandsworth man Terence Matthews (aged 25 at the time) was arrested shortly after Whitton's conviction and remanded in custody to await trial. He was found guilty of taking part in the violence on 13 October 1986 and sentenced to four years in prison.[7]
A more recent incidents involving the Headhunters occurred on 13 February 2010, when members of the firm clashed with that of the Cardiff City Soul Crew at the FA Cup fifth round tie at Stamford Bridge. On 25 March 2011, 24 people were convicted of taking part in the violence, which resulted in several people being injured (including a police officer whose jaw was broken) at Isleworth Crown Court. All of those convicted receiving banning orders from all football grounds in England and Wales ranging from three years to eight years. 18 of them received prison sentences of up to two years.[8]
See also
- Casuals
- Football hooliganism
- List of hooligan firms
- Hooliganism
- Inter City Firm
- Millwall Bushwackers
- Aston Villa Hardcore
References
- ^ a b "Making a new start". BBC News. 2 May 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hooligans/1962503.stm. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
- ^ Lowles, Nick. "Headhunters unmasked". Searchlight. http://www.macintyre.com/content/view/62/105/. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
- ^ Marriner, Jason (April 2006). It's Only a Game. Mainland GB Publishing. ISBN 0955268206.
- ^ http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=9644&reviewer=104 Football Factory Review
- ^ Lasky, Melvyn (20 June 2006). On the Barricades, and Off. United States: Transaction Publishers. p. 156. ISBN 978-0887387265. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=73lGvk6EGWgC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=%22Kevin+Whitton+(++English+Football+hooligan++&source=web&ots=RkePvVvgmd&sig=X0o1Fucvl1G7PvOiet8ndVX2Mq4&hl=en.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
Further reading
- Buglioni, Gaetano; King, Martin (1 August 2008). Bully C.F.C.: The Life and Crimes of a Chelsea Head-hunter. Head Hunter Books. ISBN 1906085080.
- Ward, Colin; Henderson, Clive (5 October 2000). Who Wants It?. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 184018325X.
- Ward, Colin; Hickmott, Steve (10 May 2007). Armed for the Match: The Troubles and Trials of the Chelsea Headhunters. Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0747262926.
- Worrall, Mark (10 May 2007). Blue Murder: Chelsea Till I Die. Head Hunter Books. ISBN 1906085005.
Football Firms Notable Firms: 6.57 Crew · Arsenal firm · Aston Villa Hardcore · Baby Squad · Birmingham Zulus · Blades Business Crew · Capital City Service · Derby Lunatic Fringe · Gate 13 · Chelsea Headhunters · Hull City Psychos · Inter City Firm · La Familia · Leeds United Service Crew · Luton Town MIGs · Middlesbrough Frontline · Millwall Bushwackers · The Muckers · Naughty Forty · Newcastle Gremlins · Red Army · Section B · Soul Crew · Subway Army · Suicide Squad · Thames Valley Travellers · Yid ArmyCategories:- Chelsea F.C.
- Association football hooligan firms
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