The English football hooligan is alive and well and, when not laying waste to some foreign field, could be selling antiques for a living. While the rest of the world settles down to celebrate the World Cup soccer carnival, some England supporters seem to think it is their opportunity to fight in memory of the British Empire.
The face of the English fan is changing, with more women and families trooping on to the terraces to cheer on the national side. The profile of the thug is also altering, with many of those arrested for kicking and thumping their way through the streets of Marseilles holding middle-class jobs.
One man pictured in the British press waving a bottle of booze while burning the Tunisian flag in Marseilles has been identified as Peter Miller, a 35-year-old antiques dealer who is an expert on Wedgwood and Royal Doulton pottery. Others arrested by the French police have been found to live in leafy suburbs, holding jobs in accountancy and other professions which pay enough to finance their trips overseas.
But while most of England hangs its head in shame at the international attention given to the hard core of fans intent on violence, condemnation has been tempered by the country's general xenophobia. A former government minister excused the World Cup louts, claiming it was a natural part of the English mentality to go abroad and fight for the flag.
Former defence minister and military historian Alan Clark claimed French police unfairly targeted English fans. 'In a sense that is a kind of compliment to the English martial spirit, but they really haven't got a chance, these guys. Everybody is out to get them,' said the maverick Conservative MP.
'Football matches are now a substitute for the old medieval tournaments. They are in their nature aggressive and confrontational, so it is perfectly natural some of the fans should be obstreperous.' Other politicians have been quick to distance themselves from Mr Clark's comments, but experts say this kind of nationalism is at the heart of much of the violence exhibited by English fans.