I've seen some outbreaks of fights at loads of finals I've been to, some involving Wires and some not. On pretty much all occasions the narrative on RL social media has been to blame people not wearing colours (like me) or people who like football (like me). Funnily enough though, I wasn't involved on any occasion but have witnessed grown men in face paint, grown men in jester hats, and on one occasion a grown man in a full wolf costume, firmly in the thick of it. I don't know if they liked football or not because I didn't stop and ask them, but their RL allegiances (as I said, sometimes Wires, sometimes not) were plastered all over them.

I've always found Warrington a friendly enough place to go to, although as a Wakey fan I suppose I don't follow a team the Wire would regard as a rival. I've sat in Warrington pubs pre-game and not had a jot of bother, nor when making my way from the ground afterwards.



I'm in no way condoning the Catalan spectacle, but it was a bit like modern biff: more heat than flames. It looked bad because of the standing on seats trying to get in and general clamour but there wasn't much actual fighting. But once a club gets that hooligan tag, it attracts people who like the tag, and it only takes a couple of isolated idiots with stones to further tarnish it.