| Description | The extent to which problems of crowd control and football hooliganism came to dominate public perception of the game from the mid 1970s is fully reflected in the correspondence and papers catalogued here. Amongst the interested parties represented are the FA and Football League, individual clubs, Government, police, British Rail and many members of the general public who wrote to Thompson to express their concern and offer suggestions. The FA set up its own committee on crowd control in November 1976 and participated in the inquiries of Government and others. Various aspects of the problem are identified and discussed in the papers including conduct of players on the field, transport of supporters to matches, policing of matches, and sale of alcohol at football grounds. There is also a significant collection of background material including press-cuttings, printed and duplicated reports, programmes of action, and academic studies of the problem. For further material on crowd control see E.441, E.442, E.464-E.467, E.491. |