Situational factors and the shaping of recreational space: A preliminary study of deviant behaviours among Malaysian soccer fans

Contemporary soccer sports have become a huge industrial machinery churning mega profits from competitive commercial sponsorships as well as from tickets bought by fans. The latter exert critical impacts on players determining significantly both their motivation and their team fortunes. Since fans turn up in crowds to watch a soccer match it is not easy to expect them to always comply with all the norms and rules that have been set. This preliminary Malaysian study confirms the findings of previous studies with respect to the role played by situational factors in determining the behaviour of supporters in the stadium. From in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with several key informants and soccer fans it was found that various situational factors such as the number of supporters and their position in the stadium, the meaning and the importance of the matches to fans, the history of fans relationships with the team, the security at the stadium, the importance of the game to the identity of the fans, and fans’ expectations of the upcoming matches as well as the location of the match, all contribute to the conduct and behaviour of fans at the pitch.