How Barcelona and Real Madrid dealt with their toxic ultras
The term 'ultras' is often used to describe the most passionate and hardcore portion of a club's fanbase. While the definition sounds positive, the connotations of the word are largely negative. Ultras, most commonly found in Italy but also in the rest of the world, are associated with acts of hooliganism and violence.
While on television, the sight of these ultras with their tifos, flags, and flares might seem passionate, in reality, most of these groups are extreme right-wing ideologists. They are frequently associated with acts of neo-Nazism, racism, fascism, homophobia, and general extremism. For them, supporting a club is less about football but more about a sense of territorial integrity.
Ultras have been problematic for both Real Madrid and Barcelona
Rumors recently emerged that Real Madrid's ultras group 'Ultras Sur' will be welcomed back to the Bernabeu for the second leg against PSG. While it is highly unlikely that it will happen, several Real Madrid fans on social media seem to be in favor of it.
The truth is that perhaps they are not familiar with their reality. The mosaics, the chants, and the atmosphere give off a very romanticized view of groups like Ultras Sur.
We don’t come back, we have never left. #Ultras #RealMadridVsPSG #ChampionsLeague https://t.co/pDjylPLOCb
Ultras Sur was started in the 1980s by Jose Ochaita. Ochaita was frequently associated with acts of racism, neo-Nazism, and violence. The group attracted people of similar right-wing extremist mentality.
In fact, they idolized former Spanish dictator Franco. Franco himself is notorious for acts of oppression against Catalans, Basques, and even women in general. Ultras Sur prided themselves on having these extremely negative traits and symbolized hatred for everything and everyone that were different from them.
They are known to have organized 'hunts' for these other communities. On matchdays, they were often seen singing racist and anti-Semitic chants and waving Nazi flags.
The biggest problem, however, was the fact that for the longest time, Real Madrid supported them and had close ties with them. In fact, they are known to have had offices inside the Bernabeu to store mosaics, megaphones, etc. Former Real players and managers even acknowledged their importance in the stadium.
However, all this began to change with Florentino Perez. Now it is noteworthy that while Perez himself isn't the cleanest, his decision to ban Ultras Sur from the stadium deserves appreciation. He understood that Real Madrid having a group like that only hurt their image and in 2014, he banned them and began working on revolutionizing the club's fan groups.
In retort, Ultras Sur called war on him, vandalizing his house and even going to the extent of desecrating his wife's grave. That says everything about them that needs to be known and Real fans must recognize that they do not need such people to help them overturn a 1-0 deficit.
📸| Boixos Nois, group of Barcelona ultras, are on the streets ahead of #BarçaPSG! https://t.co/D31Gd2NBBa
Real Madrid and Barcelona, despite their huge rivalry, have often been two peas in the same pod, in success and in failure. Barca too had their own ultras group. They were known as Boixos Nois.
Barca pride themselves on being a political club in relation to the Catalan separatist movement. So it's not surprising that the Boixos Nois started out as a left-leaning group in 1981. They associated themselves with the independence movement and were against former President Josep Nuñez, who was seen as authoritarian.
However, over the 1980s, the group experienced a complete changeover and regressed into a right-wing, fascist and violent state.
They were associated with several acts of fan violence all over Spain. In stadiums, they often resorted to neo-Nazi gestures and chants. The club in fact had solid ties with them, giving them room to store their stuff in the Camp Nou and providing them with free tickets to away games, etc.
In fact, after their drastic switch in ideology, Nuñez and his successor Gaspart publicly supported them and gave them freedom. In return, they used them for their own political gain.
However, all this changed in the club elections of 2003. Current president Joan Laporta was contesting his first term against Lluis Bassat. Bassat sadly had to face immense harassment from the Boixos Nois because he was a Jew. His campaign was often interjected with inflammatory and anti-Semitic chants by the group.
Predictably, when the election happened, the Boixos Nois voted for Laporta as they didn't want a Jew in charge of their club. Laporta won, and among his first decisions in charge was banning the Boixos Nois from the club and cutting all ties with them. He had to bear the brunt of their anger, therefore, as his house was broken into and there was even an attempt to kill him.
Both Laporta and Perez have their supporters and detractors and their reputation has taken a hit with the recent Super League business. But credit where it is due and the decision to distance their clubs from these anti-social groups.