Soccer hooligans

In recent years, only one major football tournament has passed off without violence -- the 1994 World Cup, for which England failed to qualify. While many countries attract a hooligan following, the "English disease" remains a problem that is most acute on these shores. Contemptible scenes such as those in Charleroi and Brussels have shamed the nation again and again, over the course of three decades.

There is agreement that more must be done to prevent a repeat of this national disgrace. The government should send a firm message to the hooligans, and to the camp-followers who encourage them, by publishing the names of those who are deported. They would then face the difficult task of explaining to their employers, families and local newspapers; it would make it much harder to pretend that they were just innocent bystanders. The chance to watch the thugs, and join in after enough Trappist beers, must no longer be seen as part of the thrill of following England. That culture must change, and shame can be a powerful deterrent.

-- The Times, London