Supporter violence is a common phenomenon, which has not received any attention in the economics literature. We set up an overlapping generations model to reflect the structure of the supporter clubs and to show which factors can explain empirically high levels of violence. Supporter violence can be tackled by the society mainly in two ways: by coercive force or by reducing the value of being a supporter compared to the value of the outside options. Surprisingly, we find that either of these approaches aimed at reducing violence may lead into the opposite result under adverse circumstances.

JEL classification: D71, D74

Keywords: Violence, Supporter Clubs

Length:  22 pages