Madness takes many different forms. Football fans around the world make their best impression of the full gamut of emotions whenever they step within the confines of an arena. From the most committed extreme, to the eccentric, to the bizarre and extravagance of civilized society, the the global game has provided an emotional window into humanity, unearthing some of the craziest football fans on the globe.
For many sports fans in the United States, these active and zealous fandom are way too outlandish to relate with. The chants, flares, passion, colour, abuse, ferocity and unwavering support of over 90 minutes from some of the craziest football fans are attributes that go against the orthodox norms in the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.
Following the crash of the much maligned European Super League in April 2021, USA Today unfavourably compared American sports to their British counterpart:
“Stan Kroenke, John Henry and the Glazer family (All Americans) learned the hard way that just because they play football in England, you can’t run a Premier League team as if it was in America,” said the publication.
That’s not to say that the sporting franchises in America haven’t been hugely successful in their over hundred years of existence. There is a lot of history and meaning attached to these sports. Nonetheless, there is always a detachment, with franchises being bought, sold and moved like the stock market in the American clime. Football clubs in Europe and South America on the other hand are as much institutions of identity as they are of sport.
For fans of Buenos Aires, Boca Juniors is part of the city’s DNA, as are Bayern Munich in Bavaria, Manchester United in the north-west of England, Juventus in Turin and FC Barcelona in Catalonia in Spain. The latter example could not be a more striking illustration of a nationality intrinsically linked to a football club, with the Blaugrana deliberately using the team and the passion of these football crazy fans as a means of defending the course of independence from Spain.
‘Hooliganism’ is the ugly phrase so often raised when stereotypes about passionate supporters and crazy football fans suffice in public discourse. Images of supporters covering their faces with scarves and balaclavas while throwing tear gas and flares are a dark shade that the sport has tried to combat with varying degrees of success.
England turned the horrors of Hillsborough in 1989 into a devastating set of circumstances in which 96 football fans lost their lives due to excessive congestion in Sheffield. Today, the pitches in England are first class stadiums where the presence of seats is mandatory and where the security presence is well represented without being hawkish.
After a year of enforced sabbatical due to the once in a lifetime covid-19 of a pandemic, the craziest football fans in England displayed their undying love for the game, when their meltdown single-handedly shut down plans of a breakaway elite league: The European Super League. Following incessant backlash on social media, all of the English participants in the supposed rogue competition yielded to the united voice of thousands and withdrew.
But the English, housing some of the craziest football fans globally, were not done. They broke government rules and covid-19 protocols to stage epoch-making protests that culminated in the biggest tie in England, a Manchester United vs Liverpool showdown to be called off. Hundreds of fans had broken into the stadium in astonishing scenes, rendering the crunch face-off unplayable.
Does this make the English, the craziest football fans in the world? Maybe, but as earlier stated, insanity comes in many different forms. The rabid passion for the game is still going strong, but there are many more. These are the 15 countries and leagues with the craziest football fans in the world.
15. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, a little-known strip of land in Eastern Europe, is a nation recovering from the breakup of the Soviet Union as it seeks to forge a positive future for itself on the planet and in the world of football. With stars such as Miralem Pjanic, Edin Dzeko, Asmir Begovic and Muhamed Besic, the country has a plethora of well-established stars distributed across top global championships to ensure that they hold pride in time.
However, supporters have a less prestigious status today. After the terrorist attacks in Paris last year, traveling Bosnian supporters interrupted the minute silence in the Republic of Ireland. They also rioted against the Israeli national team during the 2016 EUROs qualifying phase and pleaded for the murder of Jews in Vienna in 2015, chanting “Kill the Jews.”
This places Bosnia and Herzegovina at the toxic end of the spectrum of madness, going beyond what is respectable in the realm of social standards in the Western world. Using this criteria, we rank the young nation as the hub of the craziest football fans in the world in terms of odiousness.
14. Scotland 
Sectarian violence is the underlying tone of disunity in Scottish football. The demarcating line that separates the city of Glasgow is borne on religious grounds. Catholics and Protestants have bickered, fought and killed one another for thousands of years in their interpretation of the Christian faith.
This takes place between the two football clubs represented by Glasgow: Celtic being the Catholic team while Protestants team up with Rangers. With religion being a spiky ingredient to fuel the craziest football fans in the country, Derby days are as fierce in this game as anywhere else in the world.
The old firm as it is known brings out the worst of supporters, thereby unleashing all their vile hatred on the pitch and in pockets of off-field clashes. In 1902 and 1971 disasters occurred at stadiums in Scotland, which resulted in the death of 66 people and 200 injured. The passion and the noise are huge, but history tells us it can lead to ugly levels. This Derby undoubtedly hosts the craziest football fans in the British Islands.
13. England
Hooliganism has been so synonymous with England that a movie called ‘Green Street Hooligans’ starring Charlie Hunnam and Elijah Wood in the lead role was produced in 2005. The violence depicted in the film was more of a throwback to scenes from the 1980s when the country languished under Margaret Thatcher’s austerity measures and football was a way to unite behind something bigger than the government. Watching a match has become a call to arms for football companies, using the game to enforce martial law from London and further north.
The English national team has arguably the most loyal and largest football fan base in the world. Among these factions of supporters are some of the craziest football fans in the world.
The coordinated chants and the red and white songs of the Three Lions make their presence an unmissable event at any World Cup or Euro tournament. They were at the end of the violent clashes with Russian ultras in 2016’s EUROs in France, marking a turnaround in recent history where English supporters have become the aggressors.
English giants, Liverpool, are revered for having one of the best ambience in football, with a rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ every Anfield matchday that is guaranteed to send shivers down your spine even through the TV. However, Arsenal take the cake for craziest football fans in the English top tier.
12. Russia
France 2016 offered a window into a brooding stomach of ravaged white men, angry with the world and eager to use their country’s tournament and fixtures as a way to express their backward world view. Not only was their calculated attack on England fans in their group stage game a goal in itself, but the riots that followed on the streets of the neutral country showed that it was still the end of the game for one. This debasing behaviour is so ingrained that a percentage of conservative Russian ultras view roguish behavior as a Badge of Honor.
This thuggish reputation brought disturbing thoughts to the hearts of football lovers when it was announced that Russia will host the World Cup in 2018. The country however maintained a clean sheet and relatively peaceful demeanour during the tournament. This in no way exempt them from this list of craziest football fans in the world.
In Russian league games, black players are regularly booed and given monkey chants while neo-Nazis wear banners to push far-right activism beyond what is acceptable. In many ways, the term ‘crazy’ does not do justice to this cohort of Russian football fans.
The main Moscow Derby between CSKA Moscow and Spartak Moscow is one of the fiercest in Europe, with fans degenerating to calling themselves abhorrent names like Koni (horses) and Myaso (meat) respectively.
To buttress how passionately the Russians follow football, they were one of the very few nations in the world that still welcomed fans into stadiums at the height of the covid-19 pandemic.
11. France
Talk to many French football viewers and their interpretation of a typical supporter is a polite, well-mannered folk who sits quietly and claps when needed. They do not tend to travel in groups of thousands for the national team or at club level, as they tend to stay predominantly within their national tribes.
But the aforementioned fight that broke out during the Euros between English and Russian supporters was initiated by a group of French ultras, showing that behind the passion and love of the game hides a group that takes matters into their own hands.
The Marseille region welcomes the gold standard for unruly, overzealous and crazy football supporters in France. The banners, the tifos, the chants and the unwavering love for their football team are examples of beautiful mayhem. Strong rivalries have developed over the decades with Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon the match to follow to have a first-hand view of the craziest football fans in the country. This heavily contrasts and rubbishes the idea tag the jaded French football society is too relaxed to go beyond for the games.
10. Greece
National football derbies are always the best indication of the madness and craze of a collective football community. By this measure, the rivalry between Olympiacos and PAOK is advertised as the fiercest of all. The game illustrates the split between the cities of Piraeus and Thessaloniki, with a ring of fire often welcoming players as they walk onto the ground. Pyrotechnics are only the tip of the iceberg, however, with large banners loud singing, rioting and mid-game arguments, that sometimes lead to devastating consequences.
A UK newspaper described the scenes of a PAOK vs Olympiacos derby as spectators treating the pitch like a personal ashtray, launching flares across the pitch regardless of the welfare of their own players. The nation shocked the world in 2004 by winning the European Championship, beating host Portugal in the final. That left Cristiano Ronaldo in tears, but gave a nation accustomed to second place a moment in the sun, having been heavy underdogs before the torurnament.
9. Ukraine
As a nation, Ukraine has struggled to fight for survival against the shadow of Russian power in north-eastern Europe. When Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed into their soil, leaving 283 passengers and 15 crew members, the tension between the two countries threatened to turn into a civil war. The threat and cold war has always been present, only the willingness of one side or the other to act determines the amount of violence that spills into the streets.
So what does this have to do with their football supporters? During the Euro 2016 championships, Ukrainian football fans were pictured with swastika tattoos before embarking on clashes with German and Polish groups during their short stay at the tournament. The social and political turmoil also directly affected their national league, with giants, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, playing far from their hometown in enemy territory in Kiev. Think of it like the New York Yankees playing at Fenway Park or FC Enyimba at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium .
8. Netherlands
The Dutch national football team is known by different pseudonyms, such as Oranje, Clockwork Orange or The Flying Dutchmen, with traveling fans famous for bathing in bright colours and providing loads of entertainment. Their football is synonymous with “total football” of the Johan Cruyff school. It embodies a versatile philosophy among players of the 1970s that continues to inspire generations today. Yet, at the national level, they have never won a major tournament and, as a result, have a fierce rivalry with their close neighbors and proven winners, Germany.
Domestically, the Ajax Amsterdam – Feyenoord matches are on a different level, showing the divide between two big cities with a series of riots, fights, chants, flares – the whole package, as crazy football fans get in in the act. The Dutch may have a reputation for being calculated, cold marijuana smokers riding bicycles along the rivers, but they metamorph into some of the craziest football fans when soccer is involved.
7. Croatia
How crazy are Croatian football fans? As they led 2-1 against the Czech Republic at the Euro 2016 championships in France this summer, supporters lit flares and threw them onto the pitch in protest against their manager and the national federation. They saw Coach Ante Cacic as a puppet for the organization and wanted to use this important prop to have their point of view heard.
The ensuing stoppage of play put an end to Croatia’s momentum at the time and, when the game finally resumed, the Czechs managed to score a tying goal to snatch a 2-2 result from the Jaws of defeat. It showed how stubborn, fierce and crazy Croatian fans can be, and that’s just the national team!
The Dinamo Zagreb vs Hajduk games, known as “the eternal derby”, are a introspective study to the craziest football fans in the country. Flares are an integral part of the experience, as they tout the nation’s colors in the form of huge red and white blocks around the stands. For a small European country, they have been imprinted on the football world for better and for worse.
6. Germany
In the 2015/16 Bundesliga season, the elite football championship in Germany, the league-wide average attendance of 18 teams was 43,300 per game. This included more than 81,000 people at Borussia Dortmund, 75,000 at Bayern Munich and 61,300 at FC Schalke 04, flooding the doors every fortnight to make German football one of the staple products in the football era, one hosting some of the craziest football fans.
Other than the numbers alone, how they stand up behind their clubs is another. Synchronized chants, dances and ultras featuring a barrage of tifos create an electrifying atmosphere for every Bundesliga match. Few leagues can match this unwavering support, making these trips a pilgrimage on sacred ground.
The country’s most iconic derby sits between locals Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04, often vying for a UEFA Champions League spot. The Wall of Borussia Dortmund, one of the most iconic views in football, houses some of the craziest football fans in the world.
5. Serbia
Few entertainment shows can qualify as health risk, but Serbian football must be among the select minority that fall into this category. Described as having a systematical nationwide ‘culture of violence’ linked to football, underground criminal elements have consistently raised their ugly heads over the past two decades to avail themselves and take advantage of lax local regulations to participate in football matches. Crazy football fans use the sport to express their militant far-right views through manipulation, confrontation and imposing intimidation to anyone who doesn’t join in.
Hooligan groups are the worst in the city of Belgrade, where Partizan and Red Star clubs create a stronghold of hatred and toxicity. The most emblematic meeting in the Balkans between these clubs saw army helicopters halt the Eternal Derby in February 2016, going from a sporting event to a mini-uncivil war of epic proportions. Yet this is no unusual occurrence in the country. At a point, a crazy fan got so pissed off that he threw his mobile phone at Aleksandar Lukovic.
In 2014, 103 arrests were made in relation to this game with Red Star supporters burning the seats at full-time. Serbian football fans are undoubtedly one of the most dangerous, reckless, unpredictable and craziest football fans in the world.
4. Brazil
Brazil and football are inseparable, a conjoined match made in heaven. The five-time World Cup champions go beyond obsession when it comes to their passion for football, displaying degrees of love and despair that are rarely seen, even in South America.
The kings of samba have made the sport a symbol of freestyle expressionism, transforming the raw talents of the streets of Rio and Sao Paulo into world-class athletes generating millions on Europe’s biggest stages. From Pelé in the 60s and 70s, Ronaldo and Rivaldo in the 90s, Ronaldinho in the 2000s and Neymar Jr. today, generations of Canarinho fans have been spoiled with the best naturally gifted players for decades. This expressionism is also evedint in the passion of their football crazed fans.
A humiliating 7-1 semi-final loss to their national team’s Germany at the Maracana Stadium in 2014 was the lowest of low in their history. The camera was flooded with tears, demonstrating that the loss was a national failure as much as a mere football result.
Death and violence are a dark side that emerges around Serie A matches in Campeonato Brasileiro. Rivalries between the giants Sao Paulo, Flamengo, Corinthians and Palmeiras are on the rise and are mixed with widespread street crime. Brazil make a good game what it is, but there is a negative setback that pops up from time to time, as some of their craziest football fans go the extreme to express themselves.
3. Argentina
Vamos! Vamos!! Argentina!!! A country that has made two FIFA World Cup finals. The South American football powerhouse lives and breathes football just like any other of its competitors on the planet. While the national team of La Albiceleste La Bleue et Bleu Ciel receives enthusiastic support during its trips to major tournaments, it is the national match where the madness rises to “wuthering heights” on the decimeter.
The Superclasico is one local game that brings the nation to a standstill– the bitter rivalry between Buenos Aires clubs, Boca Juniors and River Plate. Their battles dating back to the early 20th century, portrayed the best and worst of football through riots, overwhelming in the death of 71 people in 1968 who attended the championship.
Without Argentina, football would be much poorer, as the noise and energy they produce are equivalent to that of other fan groups combined. They have also produced two very greats, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, whom have thrilled some of these craziest football fans for decades.
2. Italy
Four-time FIFA World Cup champions, Italy, are no strangers to football. Along with pasta, pizza, Giro bikes, and many other cultural stereotypes imaginable, football is an essential ingredient of their heritage as a people. The Azzurri combine deep divisions and hatred on a national front with harmony and unity on the international side of the equation, with the Azzurri far exceeding most competitions. A single viewing of the players singing the national anthem is a testament to how they fight on the pitch and show unparalleled passion.
But like any activity that is followed to the point of insanity, there is a huge downside to the number of crazed actions that fans undertake. In addition to political and systematic shenanigans, drug and payment-related corruption are a huge name plaguing the country.
Racism is also a problem the country cannot shake around its football fields. Italian striker Mario Balotelli, a player of African descent, has been regularly subjected to monkey chants and banana throws by some crazy football fans in Serie A matches.
Roma’s local rivals, Lazio, have a reputation for being followed by groups of far-right activists and these incidents undermine a love of football that should be celebrated with no political inclination.
Napoli, despite boasting a relatively dusty trophy cabinet, have a wall of supporters who are one of the most intimidating fandom in football. They are also one of the largest pockets of ultras in world football ranking them just one place shy of top spot on this list of craziest football fans in the world.
1. Turkey
Turkish fans support their football teams to the extreme, making them worthy of being crowned the craziest football fans in the world. One video in particular went viral during the Euro 2016 championships when a woman mischievously pranked her husband as he watched the national team against Croatia. As she stealthily switched channels and turned off the TV with an mobile remote control, the husband ran out of patience with the screen and progressed to smash the TV, the laptop, and whatever came to hand!
This hilarious video is hardly the tip of the iceberg.
Considering all the socio-political turmoil facing the country, it’s no surprise that the Istanbul derby between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray is one of the best supported and intense shows in football. Nigeria’s Henry Onyenkuru felt the steaming wrath of the fans through the TV after he missed a plethora of big chances in the iconic derby. Fortunately, all this was put behind and encomiums were showered on him post-match after he scored the decisive winning goal.
Watch a Turkish family protest after Onyekuru missed a sitter for Galatasaray vs Fenerbahce.
Are you sure they didn’t place a bet on the game? 😂#FBvGSpic.twitter.com/PWPNeDJumi
— FAST TRACK 🇳🇬 (@FastTrackNaija) February 23, 2020
To lay emphasis on Turkish football, Galatasaray and Besiktas hold the record for having not only the craziest football fans but the loudest in the world. A record certified by the Guinness Book of Record.
During the 1995-1996 season, Scotland manager Graeme Souness planted a Galatasaray flag in middle of the pitch after defeating their rivals. The scenes of chaos and mania that followed told their own story – broken seats, fireworks, street riots – just another Turkish football derby built on the passion of football crazy fans.
Craziest Football Fans in the World
- Turkey
- Italy
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Serbia
- Germany
- Croatia
- Netherlands
- Ukraine
- Greece
- France
- Russia
- England
- Scotland
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
