Top 10 Craziest Fans in Football

Our first entry introduces a type of fan group we’ll see repeatedly on this list: Ultras. Supporters of big clubs like Lazio and their similarly rowdy rivals, Roma, proudly wear their “ultra-fandom” on their sleeves, sometimes resorting to hooliganism and violence – especially in derbies. Lazio’s Ultras, The Irriducibili, revolutionized fandom across Italy beginning in 1987, ditching the traditional drums and instead showing support and adding intensity to matches using chants. The Irriducibili are now vital to the club: they have the strength to organize walkouts, and have done so on several occasions to flex their muscle and influence club decisions. They’ve even gone so far as to deliver 10 bags of manure to the team’s training ground in protest of bad results.

Although the Polish league, the Ekstraklasa, is not typically known for European success, one of its most notable teams, Wisła Kraków, is very well known throughout Europe… just not for great reasons. Its firm, the equivalent of the Ultra fan base we mentioned in our last entry, is one of the most brutal in Europe. They’re like most firms, in that they tend to get into fights with opposing fans. But they differ as they take that violence to new levels. These fans are specifically known for wielding weapons like machetes and baseball bats as they engage in highly organized attacks on opposing fans, and they’ve been connected to several murders in the past as well. They’re less football fans and more trained warriors.

There’s a reason Borussia Dortmund is pretty much everyone’s second favorite team in German football, and it doesn’t have to do with the attractive game they play. Their fans are a joy to behold. Arguably the most committed in the game, they balance passion and love with pure crazy behavior. Dortmund typically sells out the 27,000 tickets for its massive standing section, known as the Yellow Wall. The Wall coordinates with club officials to create some of the most visually stunning fan displays in the world. And the buck doesn’t stop there. In 2012, a group of Dortmund fans broke into bitter rival Bayern Munich’s stadium and changed the stadium’s light configuration to the famous Dortmund black and yellow – even if it was just for an advertisement. Now that’s commitment.

Now we move to Argentina, where we come across another form of fans, the Barra Bravas. Quick explanation: they’re pretty much like Ultras and Firms. But a rose by any other name, right? Anyway, Newell’s Old Boys doesn’t have one Barra Brava, it has several – and they pretty much control the club. They’ve gained enough power to organize ticket sales and put on massive events outside of games. However, because several of these Barra Bravas want larger parts of the financial cut, violence is a constant presence. Unfortunately, these violent divisions within the club have resulted in the gunning down of innocent fans, and even the executions of rival Brava leaders.

We’ll start this one out by just admitting that the first line of our notes for this team reads, “Turkish fans are nuts.” While this description works for both Galatasaray and the national team, we think it best applies to Fenerbahce. Supporters have several passionate and aggressive firms, one of which is aptly named, “Kill For You.” They are praised for their incredible home support, as more talented opposing teams can struggle to get results against the Turkish side due to the stadium’s rowdy atmosphere, and their glowing win record at home is proof of that. Home and away, Fenerbahce fans are loud, fond of flares, and prone to violence. They regularly taunt opposing fans over social media; previewing the weapons – like for example, knives – that they plan on bringing to away games.

Brazilian teams like São Paulo and Flamengo are known for crazy fans, but Corinthians takes the cake. The level of passion these fans display is unparalleled. For the 2012 Club World Championship, an estimated 30,000 fans made the journey to Japan to see their team play. One fan claimed, “Corinthians is like a nation, a religion. People are borrowing money from banks, from relatives to come here. They are quitting their jobs.” They are also known for violence, as they don’t restrain from throwing flares – even at fellow fans. This has led to tragedy, as a 14-year-old away fan was once killed after being hit by one. As a result, Corinthians has had to occasionally shut the public out and play games behind closed doors just to ensure the safety of all involved.

This side isn’t known for playing successful, or even attractive football, as they’ve spent most of their years shuffling around the lower divisions of English football. Still, they are known worldwide for their fans’ violent hooliganism. Their firm, the Bushwackers, have incited some of the worst ever football-related riots, including the 1985 Kenilworth Road riot, 2002 Birmingham play-off riot, and the 2009 Upton Park riot, all of which spiraled into mob violence that included hundreds of fans. The Bushwackers have even gone so far as to taunt Liverpool supporters over the tragic Hillsborough Disaster that claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans in 1989. Millwall fans have featured in several football hooligan movies. And as you can probably guess, they were the villains.

Juniors is the biggest club in Argentina, but even so it’s possibly unheard of to fans of sports beyond football. The club has had major problems with fans storming the pitch and getting into fights inside the stadium, so they built a large fence to keep fans from getting pitch side. Still, Boca fans are fearless, and regularly climb it. Any ‘Superclasico’ – in other words, matches between Juniors and their rivals, River Plate - is typically marked by violence, which has resulted in games being abandoned altogether due to out of control fans. Because of loyal fan devotion, Boca has even built its own official cemetery in which its fans, players, and managers can be buried.

We’ve mentioned a few teams with fan bases that have a pretty strong financial backing. We think Nacional has them beat, as for some time they were primarily funded by famous Colombian narcotics kingpin Pablo Escobar. An enormous football fan, he religiously supported Nacional, socially and financially. He helped them rise to the top of Colombian football, where their fans have since become known for passion and violence. They organize fights that have resulted in numerous deaths of both opposing teams fans as well as those within competing factions of Nacional. Because of its notorious roots, the club would become the focus of an acclaimed ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, entitled The Two Escobars – named after both Pablo and Andres Escobar, a former Nacional player who was murdered after scoring an own goal at the 1994 World Cup.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Manchester United F.C.
- Red Star Belgrade
- Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense
- S.S.C. Napoli

The fans of this Egyptian club proudly boast that they formed the first organized fan group in the Middle East after founding the Association of Al-Masry Club Fans in 1960. Maybe so, but now Al-Masry fans are known primarily for violence. They made headlines around the world when they incited the Port Said Stadium Riot in January 2012. After an important win against rival Al Ahly, Al-Masry fans stormed opposing fans, causing a stampede resulting in 74 deaths and 248 additional injured. It was the worst incident of football violence in Egypt since 1996. Many fans have since been sentenced to jail time, and in April 2015 an Egyptian judge sentenced 11 of the worst offenders to death. Egypt’s domestic league was also shut down for two years by the country’s government following the riot.

Do you agree with our list? Which soccer fans do you think are the craziest? For more fascinating Top 10’s, published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.