Dr Martha Newson talks to Nihal Arthanayake on BBC Radio 5 Live about social bonding, cocaine and disorderly behaviour at football matches.
Dr Martha Newson spoke with Nihal Arthanayake about her findings on the growing cases of fan violence and the role cocaine may be playing, in relation to this. This research, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy (2020) found higher than national cocaine use among football fans, especially for particularly committed fans.
‘Cocaine isn’t itself gong to make anyone violent. It interacts with your existing psychology and physiology. It will give you a sense of grandiosity and an inflated ego. But it’s very hard to pick out the causal links.’ Newson explains.
However in threatening environments, like a football stadia when fans are faced with a group of rival fans, this inflated sense can multiply to create an escalated effect.
‘If they’re immersed with their groups, there is the potential feeling that the whole group feels inflated, through a sense of bonding and social cohesion and this is where the violence occurs.’
Listen in from approximately 00:40:00