By Jakob Kehlet
He loves football, and he is (of course) a Liverpool fan.
“I often spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon watching a game of football, and I’ve seen a couple of games in Århus as well although I can’t actually remember who AGF were playing. I find the names of the Danish football teams rather hard to handle,” says Clifford Stott, a doctor in social psychology from the University of Liverpool in the UK. During the period 2008-2011 he is working as a visiting professor at the Department of Sport Science at Aarhus University.
Clifford Stott’s research has led to a series of recommendations to the authorities regarding ways of stopping trouble arising between football fans. His method basically involves the police trying to mix with groups of fans with a friendly but firm hand, looking for ways of establishing a good dialogue before any trouble occurs – instead of lining up in full protective armour and dealing harshly with entire groups of fans, a strategy which can lead to violence and a large number of arrests.
When Clifford Stott is in Denmark he doesn’t have much time to watch football. But he does spend a lot of time visiting Danish police stations to meet the Danish police – who are very positive about his theories of crowd management. Experience from big international tournaments such as the European Championships in Portugal in 2004 and the World Cup in Germany in 2006 has shown that his methods do reduce (and in some cases eliminate entirely) the number of violent clashes and arrests at football games.
The beer is expensive!
Clifford Stott praises the Danish police for their willingness to cooperate, and a number of initiatives based on his ideas have been taken as a result. But he does admit that his knowledge of Denmark outside the world of universities and police stations is extremely limited.
“I believe that work carries its own rewards, and I do work hard when I’m in Denmark. I enjoy an excellent partnership with my two wonderful colleagues at Aarhus University, Jonas Havelund and Kristian Rasmussen. In fact I have the privilege of staying at Kristian Rasmussen’s home in Odense when I’m in Denmark,” says Clifford Stott, adding that:
“I love being in Denmark and find Copenhagen particularly charming. But the beer is expensive!” he says with a smile.
