Next month sees the 2006 World Cup, which will take place in Germany. The very words immediately bringing forth a yawn of such gigantic proportions I think my head will split and someone will try to park a car in my mouth. As far as ranking the event in order of importance goes, to me it comes somewhere between bungee-jumping and diving in a cage to see sharks. What will make it interesting, both here and abroad, is the entrance onto the international stage of the Polish football hooligan. Tribalism is rife here. Warsaw, far from alone among Polish cities, is plastered with graffitti proclaiming either neanderthal allegiance to a particular club or the dubious parentage or sexual activity of the opposition. You could be forgiven for thinking that children are first taught to write only the letter 'L' and then given aerosols, parental blessing and a blank wall on which to practice. When their manual dexterity improves, they are then allowed to graduate to drawing a circle around the 'L', topped off with a styilised crown, and there you go: Warszawa Legia - Mistrz. It appears everywhere: walls, trees, buses, trams, drunks, anywhere there's a space. There used to be a time when graffitti was interesting, political, funny even. Now it's just dull. (Except, of course, for the underpass in Giszowiec which bears the legend: 'Be realistic - demand the impossible!')
So along comes the World Cup and with it come the hooligans. So far, Polish hooligans have yet to leave their grubby fingerprints on what is, let's face it, simply a game. Germany is, by rail, only several hours away and it's expected that many fans (among them sincere and dedicated followers, intent on seeing a good match that doesn't involve riot shields or water cannon) will travel to support the red and whites. In a seemingly unrelated move, the train companies recently announced that the purchase and / or consumption of alcohol would be banned on domestic services. A good idea, perhaps. Until you read on. Those people with international tickets, for countries like, say, Germany, will be able to purchase and consume alcohol to their hearts content. If they are anything like the two boys on the flight from Liverpool to Warsaw over Easter, then beware. Between them these two drank a full 75cl bottle of vodka on the two-hour flight, refused to wear seat belts or to sit down and constantly played with switched-on mobile phones, despite repeated requests to turn them off. They could hardly stand after the short flight, so imagine what they'd be like after a six hour train journey.
So the German police will be waiting. But for whom? Almost every country in Europe now has a 'hooligan database' that lists known, and potential, trouble-makers. Except Poland. No-one is sure how many will travel, who they are or where they will go, but already there have been reports of a Poland vs Germany 'battle' in a forest near the border as a pre-World Cup warm-up. With Poland's reputation already slightly tarnished by its relationship with the European Union and its continually growing ultra-Catholic public face it remains to be seen what kind of image the fans will leave behind.
