Aston Villa Hardcore (often shortened to Villa Hardcore or known as Villa Youth when referring to the younger element of the group) is a
football hooligan
Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events.
Etymology
There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a ...
firm
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...
associated with the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Aston Villa, based in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Background
The firm have been active since circa 1993, following on from previous
Aston Villa hooligan firms the Steamers, C-Crew and Villa Youth. The name 'Hardcore' reportedly arising from a
Metropolitan Police officer announcing on his radio: "Here come Villa's hardcore" following the firm's emergence from a train station before an away match against
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
in November 1996. The Hardcore have been involved in some high-profile hooligan fights in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, while following Aston Villa and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The Hardcore have clashed a number of times with the
Zulu Warriors, associated with Aston Villa's fiercest rivals
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
.
Incidents involving Aston Villa Hardcore
Fifteen people were arrested in October 2002 in a series of dawn raids in connection with serious disorders committed in the Rocky Lane area of
Aston before the game between Aston Villa and Birmingham City in September 2002,
[
] in what was described as the "Battle of Rocky Lane". In 2004, Steven Fowler, a
Category C hooligan and member of Villa Hardcore, was jailed for six months for his part in the fight in 2002. In 2005 he received a twelve-month jail sentence and was banned from attending football matches for ten years, for his part in an organised brawl between the Villa Hardcore and
Chelsea Headhunters at
King's Cross in London on 27 March 2004, while five other Villa fans were also jailed.
Fowler was jailed again in 2006 when he and 57 other people were found guilty of involvement in a riot at a
Handsworth pub on 22 August 2004 - the same day as Villa's
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
clash with local rivals
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
.
A younger wing of the firm emerged under the banner "Hardcore Youth" with two members of the firm being banned in January 2010 from attending Aston Villa matches, being in the vicinity of Villa Park on match-days, and, when Villa are playing away from home, using trains to travel the country and from entering the relevant town-centre. The pair were branded as "ring-leaders" by police and also were made to pay a fine of £500 each in court. Later on in the year another known Villa youth hooligan was handed a 3-year banning order at Warwick Crown Court whilst being held on remand after serving a 12-month prison sentence. He was handed the banning order after troubled flared outside Birmingham City's ground in 2009 after Villa won the game 1–2 with Gabriel Agbonlahor scoring a late winner. Police statistics claim that after the three leaders of the Youth faction of the Hardcore were all banned, reports of violence and potential organised clashes fell by 75%.
In October and December 2010, Aston Villa played Birmingham City, at
Villa Park
Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...
(Premier League, 31 October) and
St Andrew's (
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
, 1 December) and in both games violence between the two sets of supporters and hooligan firms occurred, with many fans being arrested. In the first game, there were scenes of violence outside Villa Park, with Villa fans throwing a
flare
A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, ...
into Birmingham fans leaving the stadium. There was a small number of arrests including a Birmingham City club chef. In the second of the games, after Birmingham had beaten Villa 2–1, Birmingham supporters invaded the pitch and confronted the visiting Villa fans. In retaliation, Villa fans ripped out seats and hurled them into the Birmingham supporters. A flare was thrown from the Villa fans section into the Birmingham fans on the pitch. Villa fans were convicted for offences relating to an attack on a pub near St. Andrews after the match, frequented by Birmingham City supporters after being identified on
CCTV.
On 14 January 2017, around 35 members of the Hardcore were issued with dispersal orders at The Angel Inn in
Bilston
Bilston is a market town, ward, and civil parish located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is close to the borders of Sandwell and Walsall. The nearest towns are Darlaston, Wednesbury, and Willenhall. Historically in Staffordshi ...
, where around 55 had gathered before a 5:30pm
EFL Championship match against
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
at
Molineux. The Angel Inn was ordered to stop serving drinks and nearby pubs told to lock their doors amid fears of violent disorder. The
Midland Metro
The West Midlands Metro (originally named Midland Metro) is a light-rail/tram system in the county of West Midlands, England. Opened on 30 May 1999, it currently consists of a single route, Line 1, which operates between the cities of Birmi ...
service was briefly disrupted as a tram was handed over to police for the purpose of transporting the fans out of the city. About 30 police officers, some with dogs, took part in the operation between 3pm and 5pm. In a statement, West Midlands Police said: “To be really clear, these were a group of people we strongly believed were together to cause trouble.” Villa lost the match 1–0, and Villa fans were criticised after destroying toilets in the away section of the stadium.
On 12 August 2017 after Aston Villa's Championship match against
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
at the
Cardiff City Stadium
The Cardiff City Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd) is a stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City Football Club and the Wales national football team.
Following expansion of the Ninian Stand in July 2 ...
, around 30 Villa Hardcore members attacked The Cornwall public house in the
Grangetown area of the city where Cardiff supporters had gathered following the final whistle. In November 2017,
South Wales Police
South Wales Police ( cy, Heddlu De Cymru) is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. It is headquartered in Bridgend.
The force was formed as South Wales Constabulary on 1 June 1969, by the amalgamation of the former Glamorgan Cons ...
released a statement saying 14 individuals had been arrested in connection with the incident and posted images of six more men they wished to speak to. On 10 December 2018, ten Villa fans received prison sentences varying between nine months and three years for their part in the pub brawl; three Cardiff supporters were also jailed.
In popular culture
In November 2006, a planned launch of the book ''Villains'' about the various Aston Villa hooligan firms, which included details of clashes with the Zulu Warriors, which was due to be held at Sensations Club in the
Balsall Heath
Balsall Heath is an inner-city area of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It has a diverse cultural mix of people and is the location of the Balti Triangle.
History
Balsall Heath was agricultural land between Moseley village and the city of ...
area of Birmingham, had to be cancelled due to threats that the Zulus would turn up and cause trouble at the event. Members of the Zulu Warriors were said to have taken exception to the launch of the book and the presence of rivals on what they considered "their territory".
In October 2008, Fowler, along with Michael Lutwyche released a book entitled ''Hardcore'' about the firm.
On Sunday, 10 April 2011, an episode of ''
Police Academy UK
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...
'', a TV show aired on
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...
, which documents four overseas police officers introduction to British crime and policing, was set in Birmingham and covered the violence that occurred at the game between Birmingham City and Aston Villa on 1 December 2010.
In April 2011, a
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
was released with the title ''Aston Villa Hardcore Lads''; the 70-minute-long DVD shows footage of the Hardcore involved in violence with rival hooligan firms, for example fans of
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
,
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
and various clashes with fans of Birmingham City. The DVD also includes pictures of Aston Villa hooligans and sections where Villa's rivals are ridiculed.
In February 2014, an episode of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
as they attempted to combat football hooliganism at a West Bromwich Albion v Villa game in November 2013.