national report - bulgaria

FANS AGAINST VIOLENCE
NATIONAL REPORT
BULGARIA
DECEMBER 2015, SOFIA
BULGARIAN BASKETBALL FEDERATION
Co-funded by the Erasmus +
Programme of the European
Union
Disclaimer
The content of this report does not reflect the
official opinion of the European Union or of its
Member States. Responsibility for the information
and views expressed in the report lies entirely
with the authors.
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The Fans Against Violence project related research was conducted and
this National Report prepared by:
Associate Professor Ivan Sandanski, PhD
Senior lecturer Georgi Draganov, PhD
Senior lecturer Ivan Slavchev, PhD
The research team is with the Department of Management & History of Sport
National Sports Academy, Sofia
The National Report was commissioned by the Bulgarian Basketball
Federation as a part of Fans against Violence project activities.
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Contents
1. Short history of the development of basketball in Bulgaria..................................................6
2. Structural picture of the Bulgarian basketball............................................................................8
3. Fans’ behaviour as an academic and an institutional interest in the country…...........11
4. Research methodology………………....................................................................................................14
5. Data from the fan survey…...………………………..............................................................................19
6. Data from the interviews with fan leaders and club representatives…….......................42
7. Findings and recommendations for further action………………..…..………...………...….....46
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………………….….....50
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List of Abbreviations
BFB – Bulgarian Basketball Federation
FIBA – International Basketball Federation
MIA – Ministry of Interior Affairs
MYS – Ministry of Youth and Sport
NBL – National Basketball League
NSA – National Sports Academy
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NATIONAL REPORT - BULGARIA
The current national report was prepared in relation to the implementation of the project
„Fans against Violence” in accordance with the initially agreed and accepted from all
partners methodological frame, instructions, and templates and is structured in the
following sections:
i) A short history of the basketball development in Bulgaria.
ii) Structural picture of Bulgarian basketball.
iii) The fan’s behaviour as academic and institutional interest in the country. The
methodology of the research.
iv) Presentation of the results of the fans’ survey.
v) Presentation of the results of the interviews with fan leaders and basketball club’s
representatives.
vi) Main results and recommendations.
1. Short history of the basketball development in Bulgaria
Basketball entered in Bulgaria back in 1906. The photographic materials from this year
prove that girls from The Girls’ High School in Rousse tried to play basketball although it
hadn’t come into organized official games. The interest in the game grew over the years and
in 1919, the first public courts appeared in Sofia. “Athletic” – Sofia was the first bigger club
which had its own basketball section. In the beginning, in our country, mainly students had
practiced basketball as most of them were women. The popularity grew rapidly among
men too, and in 1924, the first organized tournament was conducted in Sofia, in which 11
female and 10 male teams participated. Ten years later, the first international basketball
match was played in Bulgaria, in May 1934. “Athletic-Slava” 23 won 22-16 against student
sports’ club “Bucharest”.
Bulgarian basketball federation was established in 1935 and immediately became a
member of FIBA, and in the same year, the male national team participated in the first
European Basketball Championship. The greatest success of our male’s basketball team
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was in 1957 when Sofia was the home of the European Championship and the Bulgarian
team won silver medals. A year earlier, at the Olympics in Melbourne, our men’s national
team finished at fifth place, which is the best achievement for the Bulgarian male players in
the Olympic Games. Bulgaria has generally four participations at Olympic Games with
men’s basketball team. Bulgaria also won a bronze medal at the European Championship
for men in 1961. The only gold medal at the European Championship was due to the
women’s national team which won the European title in 1958 after five consecutive wins.
Women generally won 14 medals, including a second and third place in the Olympics and a
second and third place in the world championships.
At club level, “Slavia” Sofia won the first edition of the European Champions Cup
(ECC), which is the forerunner of the modern female Euro league, and in 1959 the team
won the exchanged visits against the team of Dynamo Moscow. “The white” reached the
finals three more times, winning again in 1963. “Levski-Spartak” is the second Bulgarian
team with European title – in 1984. “The blues” won the best elite female club
championship – the European Champions Cup and in 1978 and 1979 won the European
club tournament “Lilyana Ronketi”.
Nowadays the most successful men’s club team is “Lukoil Akademik”, which since
2003 has had in its account 11 champion titles and has won the Cup of Bulgaria eight times.
The team is also a regular participant in European club competitions, participating
consistently in the ULEB Cup, the Euro Cup, the FIBA Cup and in 2003 won the trophy in
the Southern Conference of FIBA tournament.
Regarding women, “Dunav 8806” is a
Bulgarian champion for 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014, vice champion of Bulgaria for 2009
and 2010 and bronze medalist in 2011. The team is the winner of the Bulgarian Cup for
2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and two times a finalist in the tournament – in 2008 and 2009.
The team has also been the only Bulgarian participant in the European club competitions
for women, as it regularly participates in the tournament FIBA Euro Cup.
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2. Structural picture of Bulgarian basketball
Administration, management, development of the basketball game, in all its forms and
varieties, is performed by the Bulgarian Basketball Federation (BBF) as the only officially
recognized by the Мinistry of Youth and Sports and FIBA institution in the country.
Structurally basketball is developed and practiced within the framework of the 139 clubs,
members of BBF, under the guidance of 496 licensed coaches. Matches in the public sports
calendar are administered by 245 referees, 56 commissioners, 245 table officials and 99
statisticians. Table 1 presents current data for the registered and organized practicing
basketball players in Bulgaria up to December 31, 2015.
Table 1. Number of registered players within the BBF
Age groups
National Basketball League – Men (I division)
Nat’l championship ‘A’ group – Men (II division)
Nat’l championship – Men (amateurs)
Nat’l championship – Women
Nat’l championship – Women (amateurs)
Boys U 10
Boys U 12
Boys U 14
Cadets U 16
Senior boys U 19
Girls U 10
Girls U 12
Girls U 14
Cadets 16
Senior girls U 19
Numbers
134
189
226
125
72
262
723
616
558
421
149
306
283
315
205
According to the data from an authoritative national survey about the attitude to
sport and sports activity of Bulgarian citizens aged over 15, conducted by Dimitrov,
Tonchev & Tsonev (2011), it turns out that in terms of awareness among the population,
from the indicated 49 sports, basketball ranks third (5.8%) after football (21.7%) and
volleyball (9.5%). Among the most widespread motive and sports activities for regular
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practice are independent physical exercises at home (11.9%), cycling (7.7%), football,
basketball, volleyball (6.5%), fitness, and bodybuilding (5%).
Structurally the basketball championship in Bulgaria consists of two divisions for
men and one for women (Table 2). The first 10 teams in the male direction (No 1-10)
compete in the National Basketball League (NBL), which is essentially First division, and
the remaining 11 (No 11-21) - in group "A" (Second division). Regarding women at the
professional level, 8 teams compete.
The absence of objective, systematic empirical data for watching live sports events
in Bulgaria makes impossible any comparisons in terms of measuring the social
significance of sports in this indicator and of basketball in particular. According to data of
BBF, the only reliable statistics are presented in Table 2 from which it appears that for the
2015/16 season the male teams enjoyed the most crowded audiences as follows:

"Balkan – Botevgrad” (an average of 850 people in the matches as home and as a
guest)

"Lukoil Academic" (an average of 580 people) and

"Black Sea Port Varna" (an average of 500 people).
Leaders among women’s teams are the following:

"Haskovo 2012" (an average of 450 people)

"Dunav 8860" (an average of 410 people) and

"Montana 2003" (an average of 400 people).
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Table 2. Spectator attendance in the NBL and the ‘A’ group – Men and Women during 2015/16 season.
Men
№ Teams
1 Balkan Botevgrad
2 Lukoil Akademik
3 Cherno more Port Varna
4 Akademik Bultex 99
5 Rilski sportist
6 Yambol
7 Spartak Pleven
8 Beroe
9 Levski
10 Chernomorets
11 Shumen
12 Vidabasket
13 ИУ
14 Dunav Rouse
15 Chavdar Troyan
16 Delphin
17 Akademik Varna
18 Akademik Blagoevgrad
19 Akademik Sofia
20 Levski -2
21 Rilski sportist -2
Women
1 Haskovo 2012
2 Dunav 8806
3 Montanа 2003
4 Beroe
5 Neftohimik 2010
6 NSA
7 Levski
8 Septemvri 97
Games
7
6
6
7
6
7
6
7
7
6
5
4
5
4
4
4
5
3
4
3
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
Home
Total Average
6300
1050
1350
225
4900
817
2250
375
800
267
1200
300
1250
313
1950
325
1522
217
900
150
2510
502
2000
500
850
170
700
175
600
150
300
75
950
190
140
70
270
90
325
108
500
125
Home
2820
564
2900
580
2000
400
410
82
650
163
226
45
360
90
300
60
Games
6
7
7
6
7
6
7
6
6
7
4
3
4
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
3
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
Away
Total Average
2220
555
5000
1000
1550
221
2115
423
2730
455
1950
390
2537
362
1800
360
1500
300
1020
204
650
163
370
123
1100
275
1150
230
1070
214
1300
260
640
160
707
236
898
225
650
217
610
203
Away
1620
324
1210
242
1595
399
1500
375
777
155
1250
250
955
191
759
152
Games
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
9
7
9
9
9
9
9
7
8
7
7
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
Total
Total
8520
6350
6450
4365
3530
3150
3787
3750
3022
1920
3160
2370
1950
1850
1670
1600
1590
847
1168
975
1110
Total
4440
4110
3595
1910
1427
1476
1315
1059
Average
852
577
496
397
392
350
344
341
252
175
351
339
217
206
186
178
177
169
167
163
159
444
411
399
212
159
148
146
106
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3. Fans’ behaviour as an academic and an institutional
interest in the country
The only available and public published sources on the problem of violence among fans,
and only in football at that, are the reports of the Third, scientific and practical conference
"Sport and Security" organized in 2014 by the National Sports Academy, the Academy of
the Ministry of Interior, the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) and Sofia Municipality, in the
partnership with the National Association of companies for trading security and protection.
The subject of the reports is orientated towards security at sports events, the psychology,
and roots of football hooliganism, as well as its prevention. This is not a surprise
considering the general boost of the widespread understanding of football transformation
into “preserved territory” of fan violence and the attempts for "transferring" such practices
during volleyball and basketball matches from the so-called “migrating" fans of football
supporters of certain teams.
Indications of the growing importance of the problem with violence and
hooliganism in Bulgarian football were the organized in 2007 round table by the
Professional Football League and the BFU with participation of presidents of leading
professional football clubs in the country, representatives of the largest fan clubs, of the
police, of the local government and of the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS). As a final
product of the discussion, a memorandum has been prepared for the adoption of measures
and proposals in reaction against football hooliganism, in which specific commitments to
all the parties concerned were fixed. Another similar initiative was the Balkan conference
held in 2012 on the topic – “Media influence on combating against violence and
hooliganism outside the football pitches and against match fixing", organizers of which
were the Association of sports journalists, the BFU and MOTO-PFOHE.
Last but not least, these events have been provoked to some extent by the protest
and the threat of the football referees’ boycott against growing incidents of violence at
football stadiums. By official publications it becomes clear that although tension on many
occasions is inspired by the football presidents themselves and the referees are most often
the target of aggression, acts of violence increase and become more frequent (fights,
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vandalism, throwing objects and bombs) in and outside the stadiums, caused by fans of
several leading teams in the country.
As in the other four countries involved in this project, Bulgaria does not make an
exception from the limitation of academic publications and reliable empirical data on fans'
aggression and violence in basketball. Also, any quantitative or qualitative research are
absent to explore and explain the fans’ behaviour. Here is the point we should clarify.
Despite the abundance of foundational and specialized scientific literature, by competent
international authors about the violence among fans in sports, especially football
hooliganism, presenting a discussion on these sources is beyond the scope and purpose of
the following national report. Such presentation will be done in the international report.
The lack of academic and institutional interest is partly explained by the absence of
serious incidents of violence among basketball fans in our country and the registered more
often repeated actions of violent behaviour during some games are dictated mainly by
various situational conditions and moments in a particular match. They are mostly
expressed in offensive scansions, threatening, entering the field, throwing no health
dangerous for the participants objects on the field. For such kind of fans’ disciplinary acts in
season 2014-2015, there were 7 cases of men and women’s basketball clubs punished by
NBL. The fact that acts of aggression on behalf of parents do exist during matches between
adolescents (mostly provocations, insults and making threats to referees, athletes, coaches)
should not be passed by.
Moreover, as it turns out, major players and a major reason for that is not always
the audience, but also coaches and athletes of particular teams (see presented below in the
box three examples (case studies) for aggression and violent behaviour in Bulgarian
basketball).
Basketball in Bulgaria has the image of "intellectual" sport. The lack of serious
incidents of violence among fans in the National championship is the reason for the
absence of a definition of the phenomenon as an important issue on the political agenda of
the institutions, accompanied by the development of subsequent policies, mechanisms and
allocating resources to solve it.
In the history of Bulgarian basketball the so-called "risky" matches, pursued by large
- scale, resembling of mass revolt incidents, are missing. Moreover - the term "risky" is not
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defined and may not be necessarily related to actual physical or mental violence (such as
fights, serious injuries, insults) and may cover other problems such as property damage or
riots. In confirmation of the above mentioned arguments is the interpretation on behalf of
the representatives of the key interested parties (stakeholders) on the issues, participated
in the Fact Finding Conference in July 2015 - the Bulgarian Basketball Federation (BBF), the
National Basketball League (NBL), basketball clubs, fan clubs, the Ministry of Interior (MI)
(police), The Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS), The National Sports Academy (NSA),
media. They give an interpretation to aggression as a social phenomenon bound up with
aggressive actions caused by provocation; mainly verbal threats, insults, throwing of
nonhealth dangerous objects that have single-minded, spontaneous nature. On the other
hand, the term violence is understood as purposeful (planned or unplanned) actions in
order to cause intentional physical or psychological damage to someone else.
From the discussion it also becomes clear that most frequently object of aggression
are definite persons: competitors; coaches; referees; fans of the opposing team; and even
the police.
Examples of acts of aggression and violent behaviour in Bulgarian basketball
"Levski" Sofia - "Partisan" Belgrade (14th November 2014)
The match between "Levski" and "Partisan" from the Adriatic League was interrupted
due to the invasion of fans after the first part at score 14:21. The Ultras from the football
supporters of the "Blues" looked for assault with a scanty group of "Partisan" supporters
which came to support their team. The lack of police presence led to chaos in "Universiade"
hall, as a large part of the home side's supporters rushed into the pitch after a fan of the
"Blues" tried to pull a scarf from one of the visiting fans, who stroke back and a mix – up had
been formed. Things calm down right after the arrival of the squad for the fight against mass
disorders. One of the Serbian fans was seriously injured and taken to hospital by ambulance.
The match was played out without audience and "Partisan" team won with 98:66.
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"Levski" Sofia - "Rilski Sportist" Samokov (2nd of March 2014)
After the game, both coaches had to give interviews, but the coach of "Levski" team
provoked the fans of the Samokov team, wearing a T-shirt with an inscription "Heath" - the
new addition to the "Blues" Brandon Heath. He was accused by his colleague from "Rilski
Sportist" in provocation and in the next moment it hardly did not come to a fight between the
sports director of the guest team and the "Levski" coach. Both had been separated by
journalists and policemen.
"Rilski Sportist" Samokov - "Cherno More Port Varna" (9th of May 2011)
Teams of "Rilski Sportist" and "Evroins Cherno More" formed an unprecedented for
the basketball championship fight. In the fight for a jump ball, a brutal mix-up came on, in
which most of the athletes and coaches took part. 16 players altogether were expelled and
the homes from Samokov scored a victory with 102:101 after the overtime. In the overtime on
the field generally only seven players took part.
4. Research methodology
Parameters of the study, methods for collecting empirical data, criteria for
structuring the sample of the respondents, processing the results.
The essence of the study related to identification, analysis and explanation of the impact
dynamics of a set of factors on the development of aggressive forms of collective behaviour
in sport (basketball) context, requires the use of a combination of methods and sources of
information. This approach is also known as triangulation (Merriam, 1998; Stake, 2005;
Yin, 2003).
The characteristics of the study imply a process of open interpretation of empirical
data. It is premised on the understanding that different variables cannot be controlled or
manipulated, and the phenomenon under scrutiny is analyzed in its natural settings.
Gratton & Jones (2004) and Yin (2003) pointed out that the main emphasis in choosing
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such an approach is the stab to understand and explain the actions and behaviour of the
participants by analyzing their development in specific contextual conditions.
Yin (2003) proposed three criteria that must be observed when examining the
dynamics of development of the phenomenon, such as the aggression among basketball
fans. The first criteria are defining the research questions - in our case they are focused on
processes, factors and understanding the perceptions by a wide range of stakeholders and
behaviour acts of fan communities, according to different social situations. The second
criteria concern on how the researcher has control over the real environment of the
manifestation of aggression. And in this sense - the smaller that control is, the appropriate
is the interpretive case study approach, more so, the problem of interest with aggressive
and violent forms of fans’ behaviour does not require direct involvement. Thirdly, this
approach is more appropriate for understanding present rather than past events.
Considering the actuality of the issue of overcoming the acts of aggressive behaviour in
basketball, its usage is completely appropriate. Due to the fact that specific events as
Laumann & Knoke (1987, рp. 30-31) put it “are embedded in the context of other previous,
current and future, the analysis must have a holistic orientation, rather than focusing
narrowly on selected situations, which is typical of most case studies”.
The entire research, connected with the objectives of the project and the
preparation of the national report, consists of four interconnected elements:
1. Conducting a day Fact Finding Conference (July 15th, 2015) with the participation of
the key interested on the issues parties: BBF, NBL, professional basketball clubs, fan
clubs, police, MYS, NSA, media. The topics of the conference were related to:
i) Analyzing the current situation with acts of aggression in basketball including
defining the parameters and manifestations of such behaviour.
ii) Discussing good practices, proposals, and recommendations for improving the
interactions between the interested parties in relation to the work with fans.
iii) Formulation of proposals for the creation of maximum appropriate conditions
and good organization for carrying out project activities with the participation
of the fans.
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The most significant opinions, interpretations, conclusions, recommendations and
suggestions made by various stakeholders have found room as a support material in the
sections of this report.
2. Realization of a structured thematic survey among fans through a questionnaire for
self-filling.
The survey was conducted between May and June 2015 during the playoff phase of the
basketball championship in eight cities of the country (Sofia, Yambol, Ruse, Botevgrad,
Stara Zagora, Varna, Pravets, Samokov).
The main objectives of the empirical study are as follows:
i) Composing a socio-behavioural profile of basketball fans.
ii) Identifying the main factors and causes of incitement to acts of aggressive and
violent behaviour during the national championship games.
iii)Revealing the mechanisms and forms of bad behaviour from the perspective of
context, time and reasons for the manifestation of aggressive / violent behaviour.
The object of the study were male teams’ supporters from the NBL and the female
team of "Dunav – Rousse”, which is a team with the most organized fans in the women's
division. The main criterion for respondent selection in the survey sample is he or she to
has attended at least 30 per cent of the home games of the team they support. That
minimum threshold has been determined after making a deductive analysis of the total
number of games during the last competition season. The fan sample was constituted
randomly depending on resource, time and logistical opportunities of the BBF. In this
regard, Merriam (1998) states that the strength of this type of extract lies in the possibility
of general conclusions, but that's not the goal here, it’s rather social facts to be extracted by
the naturally formed groups (Creswell, 2009).
Survey questionnaires were handed out and completed usually in the basketball
halls before the start of the games. From originally distributed questionnaires to 800
persons, 704 (n = 704) or response rate of 88% were filled in and returned in a condition
that allowed for processing and analysis. The developed self-administering questionnaire
contains a set of operationalised quality parameters. These correspond to the components
of the theoretical model of the research enabling thus the making of further comparative
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analysis. Each of the questions is structured with pre-defined options to mark, according to
the real situation of the respondent. Such a type of questionnaires, according to Zhelev
(1995), are commonly used tool for collecting information, given that spectators are there
primarily to watch the game and will have limited time to get familiar with and fill it in. The
received responses were coded and processed with SPSS software product, and the results
were presented in the form of Frequencies analysis.
3. Semi-structured interviews with fan leaders and representatives of basketball clubs.
The main merit of the interview, as Flick (1998) suggested, is that it allows for focusing on
the specific object under scrutiny and his/her own interpretation of processes, events,
actions and context through preliminary chosen topics, hypotheses or questions. May
(1997) highlighted another advantage of this kind of "face to face" interview, namely, the
ability to understand in its own way, the meaning that interviewees attach to events and
relationships. Besides, quality information on a given topic can be clarified and elaborated
by asking additional questions.
Interviews were conducted with 7 fan leaders (”Levski” Sofia, “Cherno more Port”
Varna, “Tunja” Yambol, “Rilski sportist” Samokov, “Beroe” St. Zagora, “Balkan” Botevgrad,
“Dunav” Rousse) of the largest groups of basketball supporters and 4 representatives of
basketball clubs (“Levski” Sofia, “Cherno more Port” Varna, “Tunja” Yambol, “Rilski
sportiest” Samokov), with the biggest audience. All interviews were recorded on tape after
obtaining the prior consent of the interviewed and subsequently transcripted in text format
on computer files.
An open process of data reduction was accomplished including systematization of
the information (coding), as it was described by Creswell (2009). However, the focus of this
method for analyzing qualitative data is more on finding unusual and rare practices that
are not less important or informative than generic ones (Biddle et al, 2001). The results
from the interviews were presented in the form of a qualitative analysis as for this purpose
were extracted and grouped the most common topics and questions in the responses,
which allowed subsequently to interpret and compare them (for the purposes of
triangulation) to the responses of the fans. In coding and analyzing data from the
interviews the four principles as identified by Yin (2003, p. 136) were observed:
17
i)
taking into account all the facts;
ii) incorporating all relevant conflicting interpretations;
iii) the development of the most important aspects of the topics raised; and
iv) use of previous experience and expert knowledge.
4. Triangulation.
The meaning of application of this approach for checking the empirical data was to verify
the data authenticity from the other three sources (survey among fans, interviews with fan
leaders and representatives of the basketball clubs, and discussion with other stakeholders
of Fact Finding Conference), by their detection and comparison. Triangulation is widely
used research method in studying aggressive fans behaviour and especially, as Lewis
(2007, p. 23) stated, when investigating such a difficult complex problem and the
researcher rarely presents or generally is absent from the scenе of the event.
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5. Data from the fan survey.
The analysis of the survey covers a total of 704 basketball fans from nine of the top
basketball teams in Bulgaria, as from which predominant are: “Balkan” Botevgrad, “Rilski
sportist” Samokov, “Cherno more Port Varna” and “Yambol” (Fig. 1). 93.2% of the included
in the sample are fans of male teams from the NBL and 6.8 percent sympathize with the
female team of “Dunav” Rousse, which is the team with the most organized fans in women's
division. The main criterion for respondent selection in the survey sample is he or she to
has attended at least 30 per cent of the home games of the team they support.
In its significant part, these are young people aged between 16 and 39 years (Fig. 2).
The relatively large percentage of women among basketball fans (37.9%) makes an
impression (is noteworthy) in comparison with the social profile of supporters in other
team sports (Fig. 3). Similar social configuration, with the presence of serious female
interest, could be considered as a deterrent factor to serious incidents of violence. On the
other hand, the presence of a considerable number of fans in adolescence and female
audience can be seen as a resource with serious social and marketing potential, requiring
targeted policy on behalf of the basketball clubs and the management of the NBL and the
Federation.
19
The profile of basketball fans in Bulgaria is complemented by their high level of
education, where 44.8 percent are university graduates (Fig. 4).
20
The majority of fans are labor involved (62.4%), mainly in the private sector, but the
percentage of students - 30.5% is also not small (Fig. 5). However, nearly half of them claim
(44.9%) that they are experiencing financial difficulties, in which up to a point we can also
seek an explanation for the limitations of the forms of support of the favorite basketball
team (Fig. 6).
It turns out that factors associated with aggression / violence are not structural in
nature (i.e. prone to such behaviour do not come from the working class, and practically
are from all social strata, as typical for them is that usually their reactions are not
conditioned by adverse structural influences on their social status, such as lack of work).
This means that the resulting from the social structure class differences of fans are not so
decisive, making their movement between the separated social classes more easily feasible.
There are also significant social inequalities. Differences are remaining in the socioeconomic status and in the cultural capital of the parents.
21
Major roles in their development as fans have parents (30, 4%), the circle of friends
(23.6%) and the media - 17.1% (Fig. 7). In significant part (75.5%) the closest circle of
friends of respondents generally have a positive attitude towards sport, but they are not
among the people of the core fan group (Fig. 8). Members of supporters are among the
closest friends only by 16.4 percent of the fans.
22
The main form of support for the favorite team is visiting the home games (Fig. 9). In
the maintenance of this opinion are the responses in Fig. 10, where it becomes obvious that
63.3% do not miss games, while other 20.4% support the team with their presence one or
two times a month. Analysis of the results of this indicator should be done by stating that
the survey is conducted during basketball games, among supporters of the teams, which
explains the relatively high parts of the mentioned results. The second most popular form
23
of support is through watching matches on television - 39.4% yet the weak manifestation of
other established ways of demonstrating fans culture and a level of loyalty makes an
impression. On the other hand, this is indicative of poor marketing policy on behalf of the
basketball clubs.
24
Among the leading reasons for visiting basketball games of the favorite team stand
out: meeting the needs of leisure and entertainment (65.9%), the love of basketball
(56.2%), building up and maintaining social relationships with friends (45.4 %), the
attractive team play (40.9%) (Fig. 11). As it becomes clear, visits to basketball games are
dictated by social and cultural reasons (mostly value- and consumer orientated).
25
Membership in an official fan club is another major form of support for the favorite
team (Fig. 12). According to BBF data our country has registered only one basketball fan
club (“Rilski sportist” Samokov). This explains the small percentage of members in official
26
fan clubs (13.7%) as opposed to membership in fan clubs of the eponymous football team.
It is precise that due to this fact is the higher percentage of members compared to 7.6% as
an expression of a form of support in Fig. 10. On the other hand, half of the fans (49.7%) are
willing to formalizing its support, opening up significant potential for development of a
specific fans culture and passing to a higher stage of the development of a psychological
relationship with your favorite team - affection and devotion. Not accidentally, as it
becomes clear from fig. 13, 69.1% state as the main benefit from being fans socializing and
psychological effects - a sense of pride and ownership, increased self-confidence from the
support of club with traditions, creating new acquaintances.
Fans associate the support of the team with the following significant benefits (Fig.
13): pride and commitment (69.1%); socialization by creating new social contacts (27.2%);
personal satisfaction of supporting a club with wide traditions (22%). However, the low
percentage of possible forms of closer integration of the fans in club life makes an
impression. The results of this indicator confirm the need for better communication policy
and implementation of fan marketing on behalf of the basketball clubs, which was also
expressed by other key stakeholders.
27
Another direction of the analysis aims clarification of the profile of aggressive /
violent behaviour on behalf of the fans (fig. 14-17). Survey data in this regard show that
14.6% of the respondents were involved in clashes with police or fans of other teams while
the majority (85.4%) indicated that they weren’t involved in such incidents. This is more
pronounced by the fans of the home team (Fig. 14) and is mostly associated with such
events before (40%) or during matches (35%). The very similar picture in terms of time
and place (situational context) of a manifestation of aggressive behaviour is also found in
the visiting team (Fig. 15).
28
An important stage in the study was the forms of aggression and violent behaviour to be
identified (Fig. 16). The most frequently aggressive behaviour appears by making insulting
chants (26.5%), while various forms of classical violent behaviour, accompanied by
29
physical collision, are relative to a much smaller share. They are most closely associated
with attempts to attack referees and other technical persons (5%), participation in fights
with other fans (4.3%) entering the field (3.2%) and throwing objects on the field (3.1%).
The reaction of the security authorities to fans with aggressive / violent behaviour
(Fig. 17) is mainly confined to detention by the police (2.5%), expulsion from the hall
(2.2%) and non-admission to the hall (1%). At the same time, in the majority of cases
(94.3%), normal fan behaviour is observed, which confirms the argument for the absence
of serious incidents of violence among basketball fans in our country. However, the fact
that in some games repetitive acts of violent behaviour are registered (abusive chants,
throwing nondangerous for the health objects at the participants and down the field)
30
should not be ignored. All of them are dictated primarily by various situational conditions
and moments from a particular game, as most often “the irritant” is: referee judgments;
behaviour of opposing players and / or coaches; opposing fans; the reaction of the police.
Fans perceptions of that the federation / league tolerates certain teams, what is the
opinion of 28.2%, followed by defending contrary to their favorite team ideology and
values of other fans (23.4%), existence of historical enmity between fans of some teams
(16.6%) and the deployment of greater financial resources than other teams, are the main
reasons for the determination of other fans as opponents (Fig. 18). There is also a certain
percentage of fans with xenophobic conceptions (11.9%), in which the presence of
foreigners in the opponent team is irritating. Large is the percentage of the respondents
answered “other” - 39% without, however, to have made concrete examples.
31
Similarly a practice that can be used on basketball games for a demonstration of
community sense and self-determination is absent, by supporting separatist sentiments
and aspirations as forms of manifestation of deep-rooted political and cultural identities.
Some of the manifestations of aggressive behaviour, however, can be explained by subcultural and historical conditioning. Examples include:
• the phenomenon of "inherited memory" in the audience, where certain athletes
and coaches of the opponent team result as key irritants to unlock the aggressive
behaviour;
• intolerance between supporters (a form of “inherited” hate) such as “Levski”
Sofia and “Beroe” Stara Zagora;
• confrontation based on Sofia - other cities localism.
32
Similar situations can be explained by the new trend known as „localism“, which is a
direct consequence of the globalization processes. In this case, the hegemonic role of the
capital is questioned and challenged by provincial towns, which manifests aspirations for
more serious political, economic and cultural role.
Leading causes for the manifestation of aggressive / violent behaviour on behalf of
the fans most often are sought in external factors such as (Fig. 19): referees’ decisions
(68.2%); provocations by rival fans (51.5%) and excessive alcohol use (45%). The
identified causes fall among the group of situational, related to the specific context of the
match, and not related to structural, political or cultural-determining factors.
In a number of situations, aggressive behaviour of fans shows as a form of social
interpretation and reaction to what is happening in the surrounding social environment. In
this occasion, the basketball match is interpreted precisely as an opportunity to transfer
personalized social „guilt“ and a form of prosecution of “punishment” on referees, athletes
or police. Thus, the „ritual“ aggression is transformed into real when a suitable situation
arises out of a basketball game. Practice shows that most often this can be:
• disagreement with the referees’ decisions (deposits of judgments perceived as
biased) because of the fan addiction or the ignorance of the details of the
competition rules, leading to misinterpretation of controversial situations;
• the provocative behaviour of coaches, athletes, managers;
• the importance of the match and negative result, which effects lead to the
appearance of a feeling of helplessness; seek "culprit" and the corresponding
transfer of blame to referees; planned actions even for ruining the matches where
one team is weaker than the other;
• police reactions.
33
Other
Discontentment of the management of the club
Insufficient security before, during or after the
game
Part of a deliberate plan of the fan leaders
9.3%
5.0%
7.2%
5.3%
14.5%
Provocative behavior of the opposing players
Demonstration of solidarity with the rest of the
fans
Just for fun and as a source for emotions
Historical feud between our towns/ districts
Historical feud between the fans of some teams
Desire to prove yourself / to defend your honor
Opportunity to get media exposure
Extreme, fanatical attitude of some fans
Desire to provoke the fans of the other team
Opportunity to release negative energy
Doubts for simulative play and fixed result of the
game
2.8%
5.9%
4.3%
9.2%
4.9%
2.4%
11.5%
13.8%
10.2%
13.9%
68.2%
Referees calls
24.4%
Consumption of drugs
45.0%
Consumption of alcohol
15.2%
Poor performance of your team
51.5%
Offensive chants of the opponent fans
The behavior of the police/security/stewards
7.5%
Fig. 19. Common reasons for aggressive and violent behaviour of the
fans during the basketball game
34
Typical for basketball fans in Bulgaria is their interest mainly to team sports, as only
56.1% attend basketball games (Fig. 20). The percentage of fans who are members of other
fan clubs is also small as in priority these are the organizations of football teams’
supporters - 7.8% (Fig. 21). From the so-called “migrating” football fans in basketball in our
country most famous are those of “Levski” Sofia and “Beroe” St. Zagora. The data are
indicative of forming a typical basketball audience. More than 1/3 of them attend football
and volleyball matches, which can be perceived also as a form of support of the favored
club.
35
Reasons for the manifestation of aggressive behaviour we could seek in the family
and social environment of the fans included in the survey. The role of parents in the
formation of values and attitudes is fundamental, which is why the family environment in
which fans grew up is of interest (Fig. 22). A significant part (84.9%) grew up with two
parents, in 9.7% of the cases, parents have been separated, about 4.6% of the respondents
grew up with one parent, and 0.9% of them have been raised by others.
The school environment is another important institution for valuable personality
shaping. Therefore, the analysis seeks relationships connected with the behaviour display
that led to problems at school (Fig. 23). The majority of respondents (71.8%) had no
problems at school, and only 4% said they had such.
36
Acts of aggression are associated with hegemonic values and dilemmas in
contemporary Bulgarian society in which there is the first fully Internet generation.
Moreover, the net is not only a source of information, but it becomes a way of life (annual
survey “Young people in European Bulgaria”, 2015). Not a small part of the fans' activity
that does not require financial resources and is easily accessible to all, is organized through
the social network. Changes in the value system are in a direction for postmodern
consumer culture and increasing competition on behalf of other alternative forms of leisure
activities. It becomes increasingly difficult to motivate someone for sports participation by
adhering to a specific fans culture, as a form of social life rationalization and making
informed choices.
A hybrid structure of the traditional and liberal type emerges among the values that
fans considered important. They give high marks for taking personal responsibility
(58.8%), tolerance to others (50.3%), adherence to traditions (47.3%), helping others
(43.5%), contracting a marriage (43.4%), self-reliance as a form of independence (38.5%).
Success in life increasingly associates with personal efforts to adapt to a particular
environment. Humility, sympathy, and solidarity to others remain way behind in the
classification.
37
Trust in others and in the institutions of democratic societies is important for the
social stuff and the people themselves. The results in fig. 25 confirm the findings of other
studies in the country that there is low trust in the government, the political parties, the
judiciary and in the society as a whole (for example "Young people in European Bulgaria",
2015). The fans believe most in institutions such as family (90%), friends (56.7%) and a
favorite club (39.3%). It is limited to their immediate surroundings and does not go out.
This shows significant social capital, however, it is limited mainly to family form.
38
The contemporary Bulgarian society is characterized by profound social change,
where the construction of an identity becomes constantly more difficult. Fan communities
and their accompanying subcultures contribute to the expression of social reaction
towards these ups and downs providing a platform for social expression of group solidarity
and social identification. Upbringing and family background in some fans, the expectations
and the realities in life realization are often a catalyst for seeking alternative ways for
“success” by receiving recognition from the members of the fan community.
In addition to the above-mentioned arguments, we can add the problem with the
socialization of the young people in our country, who are the vast majority of basketball
39
fans. In particular, the processes of change lead to the formation of perceptions that
traditional institutions disintegrate and social values lose their meaning.
One of these examples is the limited capacity of the parents to devote sufficient time
to the process of education and building sustainable relationships with their children. Not
coincidentally in some adolescents’ basketball matches, it is the parents’ behaviour that
becomes a source of aggression and indecent acts. In the context of new realities and the
transformation of values especially in younger basketball fans, an instability of internal
forces to counter external provocations is observed (for example loss of the favorite team,
provocations by enemy players, coaches, fans, referee judgments) and they are more
vulnerable to aggressive behaviour.
Manifestations of aggressive behaviour in basketball environment in our country as
a whole have no connection with political factors, as for division on party affiliations and
support. In Bulgaria, there is no phenomenon of politicization of basketball games,
expressed by raising political slogans, chants, clashes between fans of teams traditionally
identified with left-wing and right-wing ideologies, parties, settlements or social groups.
Thus, for example, 2/3 of the participating in the survey fans have no party orientation (fig.
26), in contrast to the data for conditioned connection between violence and certain
political bias in the profile of football fans in Cyprus (Loizou, 2003).
40
One of the key factors contributing to violence identified also in the authoritative
international study of Carnibella et al. (1996), is alcohol abuse, despite the lack of clear and
ambiguous conclusions about a direct link. Moreover - the authors describe several cases of
"drunk, happy and friendly tuned fans," contributing significantly to the good atmosphere
around the match, but they emphasize that such cases vary depending on the cultural
context of the parties. Not accidentally excessive use of alcohol was identified among the
three leading causes of aggression - 45% (see fig. 19). At the same time, the majority of
Bulgarian fans (83.2%) exhibited a tolerant attitude towards alcohol use, as only 16.8% are
strongly against its consumption (fig. 27).
At the other pole is the respondents‘ attitude to drugs, where 87.2% are strongly
against their use (fig. 28), but as it turns out from data in fig. 19, according to 24.4% of fans
drug use is among the causes of aggressive behaviour. In this sense, the conclusion in the
report of Carnibella et al. (1996, p. 108) is of great interest. It says that restrictions on
selling alcohol sometimes may even have a negative impact as it can make some fans
replace alcohol with substances such as cannabis and ecstasy.
41
6. Data from the interviews with fan leaders and club
representatives.
6.1. Fan leaders.
What fan leaders have in common in their answers is that they define their love for the
game and for their favorite team as a leading feature of the supporters. In terms of how
they perceive the supported team, comparing the support to religion and shrine, strong
emotional ties are most often pointed out as a major factor in lives of supporters. Many of
them say that the basketball team they support is actually the pride of the town which they
represent.
According to fan leaders, to be called a fan it means primarily a responsibility, an
obligation to support the team no matter the sports performance, which for many of them
distinguishes fans from ordinary viewers. According to interviewed fans, they are part of
the team and are obliged to assist not only with the support from the stands. As fan leaders
have estimated, 800 and 1,300 spectators support their teams in home games and the
number of fans supporters is from 20 to 70. The main actions through which fans express
42
their support are choreography, chants, and songs from the stands. Additionally,
communication with the club and the players, conducting periodic gatherings of
supporters, voluntary work for the benefit of the club can be identified as good practices.
Most of the fan leaders do not identify specific rituals and traditions associated with the
visits of the games, except meetings before and after matches without a pre-planned
program. In two of the interviews, it is mentioned that there are certain specific seats kept
for each fan in the hall, which can be understood as a kind of superstition (a form of specific
cultural practice).
Another unifying element identified by the fan leaders is that supporters of their
team are composed of people with different social, demographic and professional profile.
However, it is noticed that a kind of "age asymmetry" is formed in some teams, as
adolescent and youth supporters are absent, and either children or adults mostly present at
matches. In terms of the isolated practices for adoption of new fans, all respondents point
out that they don’t have any certain requirements as long as they express their support for
the team. In three of the interviews, it is indicated that this is a fundamental difference
between basketball fans and football supporters, where there are a hierarchical structure
and acceptance criteria. This situation is observed among fan communities of “Levski”
Sofia, “Cherno more Port” Varna and “Beroe” St. Zagora, where normally football fans have
a strong presence. Radically different is the cultural image among supporters of “Balkan” Botevgrad and “Dunav” Rousse who socially are identified mostly with the basketball team.
The general reason for support among fans is love for the team and the game. Some
respondents consider that positively tuned supporters contribute to the common mood in
the hall and influence positive to the audience interest also.
The majority of the fan leaders haven’t indicated distinguish aggressive and violent
behaviour, but they all believe that aggression and violence should not be present in the
hall. A few, who have distinguished the two terms, have set a definition of aggression insulting chants, obscene language and other non-physical attacks at players, referees,
managers, and supporters, and as violence - physical assault, fighting and other forms of
physical actions bringing harm to other people. In this respect, clear similarities with the
interpretation of the two terms are observed on behalf of other stakeholders. The presence
43
of physical violence is especially the overlap between the two definitions, in contrast to the
prosecution of psychological impact, which is not identified as a violent act by fan leaders.
As a whole fan leaders indicate bad referee decisions and provocations by opposing
players and audience as the main reason for acts of aggression. In one of the cases, it
becomes clear that such cases are provoked by the use of alcohol, causing higher
emotionality and irritability. When this is combined with a bad result and / or provocative
behaviour it is an important precondition for negative events. The specified cases of acts of
aggression are associated with the fan leaders mostly with obscenities and insults. In some
severe cases, the cause is not well-organized security, combined with the provocative
behaviour of opposing fans or players. This allows an interpretation to be made that the
most frequent causes of aggressive / violent behaviour are dictated by the typical
situational factors in the basketball hall associated with the match. The source is basically
the immediate social environment in which the event occurs. Thus, the actions and the own
collective organization of fans create a form of analogy and reproduction of what is
happening on the pitch.
As a basic technique for dealing with violent fans and those prone to violence,
respondents indicate mostly their isolation from supporters and distancing them from the
social life of the supporters. This is usually preceded by verbal warnings on behalf of the
fan leaders’ to preserve a good form of behaviour.
The majority of the fan leaders declare that they have good cooperation with the
clubs, mainly organizing discussions about security, choreography, etc ., concerning derby
matches, about home games discussing the organization of transport, etc. Few are the
respondents indicating wider communication between clubs and fans, including also an
opportunity for the supporters to share their opinion on various aspects of the club
management. This is to some extend indicative for the limited involvement of the fans as an
important subject in management and club life. In this sense, the main recommendations
for improving the communication with fans are namely more transparent control and
providing better information on behalf of the club management. In addition, some of them
claim that not only good communication with the club is required, but also enhanced
interaction between the fans of basketball in general.
44
6.2. Club representatives.
Interviewed representatives of the basketball clubs, as well as fan leaders, indicate
that the audience of their team differs in terms of demographic, social and professional
characteristics. Their estimation for the attendance of the matches is an average between
800 and 1,000 people, as it mainly depends on the nature of the game, the opponent and
the location and timing. According to club representatives, the most common causes of acts
of aggression appear as controversial referee decisions and provocations on behalf of the
athletes and coaches of the opposing team. At the same time, they all deny coaches and
players of their team to have caused such events, which is understandable, but extremely
subjective reaction. Regarding the relationship between the club and its fans, respondents
indicate that they hold up such kind of support, especially with fan leaders. Currently, in
Bulgaria, there has been only one case of officially registered fan club of basketball fans
(“Rilski sportist” Samokov). The main form of assistance to the fans on the behalf of the
clubs is not financial, but primarily organizational and logistic.
As for interactions between a club, fans, and police, club representatives indicate
that they are limited to the standard procedure of notifying police for the conducted
matches and providing security. Additionally, at more important and risky matches,
communication with fan representatives is established.
45
7. Findings and recommendations for further action.
7.1. Conclusions:
7.1. In Bulgarian basketball reality, serious incidents of violence among fans are
missing, and the registered more frequently repeated acts of aggressive behaviour
(abusive chants, throwing non-health dangerous for the participants objects down
the field) in some matches are dictated more by various situational factors of a
certain game.
7.2. Main participants and a reason for aggressive behaviour are not always the
traditional audience, but often this is due to parents of adolescent athletes, coaches,
and players of certain teams. Other more important reasons are disagreement with
the referees’ decisions (perceived as biased), because of fan addiction or ignorance
of the competition rules details, leading to misinterpretation of controversial
situations; biased media coverage; the presence of certain “migrating” from football
supporters fans.
7.3. The profile of a Bulgarian basketball fan is a young person between 16 and 39
years; with a high level of education; professing traditional values and perceptions
of the Bulgarian society and a pronounced interest in basketball and differences in
socioeconomic status. Last but not least, the considerable fan interest on the behalf
of women should be noted, which also contributes to the lack of serious acts of
violence. On the other hand, this reveals a unique potential for attracting and
creating sustainable relationships with the female audience by implementing a
targeted marketing approach for the basketball clubs, the league and the federation
with all the ensuing strategic, social, image-making and economic benefits. Part of
such a strategy is turning basketball into an attractive and preferred family sport
by offering good basketball product, comfortable conditions and secure
environment in basketball halls.
7.4. Among the main reasons for self-determination as a fan stand out primarily those
of valuable and customer character – love for basketball and the team; meeting the
46
needs of leisure activities and entertainment; socialization; attractive sports
production of the team.
7.5. There is an ineffective communication between the clubs and fans, in particular,
undeveloped potential for their full involvement in various aspects of club life as
major stakeholders in the process of club fan culture, as well as enhanced
interaction among basketball fans in general (inadequate fan oriented club
marketing - fan marketing).
7.6. There is no sustainable inter-institutional partnership between key stakeholders
for prevention of negative manifestations of aggression,
fans education and
formation of a specific fan culture.
7.2. Recommendations for improving communication and work with fans:
7.1. For control and prevention of violent behaviour of fans changes are needed at
several levels, which require well-coordinated policies, actions, efforts and
resources on behalf of all stakeholders:
• building a system to assess the risk level of basketball games;
• improving security during basketball games, and in particular adolescent games;
• improving work organization in the fan clubs and stewards training during
matches, with the idea of rolling out the police from basketball halls;
• improving communication and coordination of actions between the clubs and the
police before and after basketball games;
• introducing a policy of internally oriented marketing and communication with
fans on behalf of the clubs;
• cultivating of new values and attitude to “fair play” culture in all aspects of social
behaviour, also in particular in the basketball game, where precisely fair play is
what is the most important, not sports results;
• organizing fans training, including a development of tests with questions about
basketball rules knowledge, the history of Bulgarian basketball and of their
favorite club;
47
• due to limited financial resources, training and meetings between fans of the
project should be organized in 4-5 Bulgarian cities where basketball is the most
popular;
• launching a competition for the best fan (Most Valuable Fan) through social
media;
• organizing meetings between local and visiting team fans;
• involving fans in various volunteer initiatives of the clubs and the federation /
league;
• improving the communication, attitude changing and increasing the conscious
responsibility of parents of adolescent basketball players by creating internal
ethical rules for behaviour during matches of the adolescent championships.
2. Stakeholders contribution to improving the work with fans:
Ministry of Youth and Sports

Organizing training modules for basketball clubs concerning work with fans and
attracting and training volunteers from the ranks of basketball fans in the role of
stewards.

Developing a proposal to the Parliament the position “steward of sporting event” to
be included in the Bill of volunteering.
Ministry of Interior

To educate clubs about their commitments in cases of home and visits, according to
Bulgarian legislation; effective ways for communication with the police and fans.

Having a more effective dialogue with the National Basketball League in
determining the risk level of potential acts of violence for each of the matches in the
championship.
Basketball clubs

Not allowing their coaches intentional behaviour which creates prerequisites for
provocations and fans reactions against referees’ decisions or against the opposing
team.
48

Working closely with fans and especially with the club responsible persons for
communication with fans, whose role is not performed with a real content at the
moment.

Better communication with parents of adolescent basketball players, because in
many of the cases the biggest problems in these games come exactly from the
parents’ behaviour.

Enabling players to meet and communicate with fans of the opposing team after
training on the day before the game when visiting (photos, autographs).
The National Basketball League

Organizing discussion for the commitments between all responsible persons for
communication with the fans in the clubs before each upcoming season.

Including more requirements and sanctions in the rules of the League for clubs in
terms of their work with fans and their duties as homes of basketball games.
49
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