Having grown up in America right when soccer was inching towards popularity, and having then lived in Europe for many years, I've always been puzzled by the vio

Having grown up in America right when soccer was inching towards popularity, and having then lived in Europe for many years, I've always been puzzled by the violence associated with the game. I can easily see it being a class-related thing in the UK, but the wealthy and cultured are very much into football in, say, Italy and Germany. I'm very glad that kind of sports-violence culture isn't a worldwide thing, and it makes me sad that the same sport can be innocent enough to be associated with suburban "soccer moms" in one place, while celebrating the wrong team can get you killed in another place.