The Barclays Premier League is the most exciting league in the world with some of the most passionate fans as well. However, that passion often finds itself coupled with hatred among opposing fans, something which has become somewhat synonymous with the English top flight.
Before I continue, I acknowledge that the Premier League is not the only league which finds itself with crowd trouble. Countries such as Turkey and Greece have found themselves in trouble on frequent occasions with fans disrupting games.
As well as that, countries such as Spain and Italy have problems in relation to racism directed towards players by fans (the best example being when fans threw a banana at Barcelona right-back Dani Alves last season).
However, I am focusing on the Premier League for the reason that it is the most publicised league in the world. Rivalries are often fuelled and intensified by media and television coverage. As a result of this, rivalry among fans has grown bigger and bigger. Therefore, it can be argued that, crowd trouble has become more and more evident.
So far this season, there has been many instances of fan misbehaviour during and after games. Examples include when Branislav Ivanovic was struck by a lighter when playing for Chelsea against QPR at Loftus Road this weekend.
On top of this, it has been reported via social media that a minority of Manchester City fans were taking part in Munich chants directed towards Manchester United during the Derby at Old Trafford on Sunday. As well as this, one Twitter account alleged that he had heard a minority of Liverpool fans booing Jonas Gutierrez and chanting "you're going to die in the morning" at the Argentinian winger during the Reds' 2-0 win over Newcastle United at Anfield.
Of course, these are simply allegations, but it follows a very worrying pattern which is blighting the reputation of the English game. When a group of Chelsea fans prevented a black French man from boarding a train in Paris, the reputation of Chelsea in general was unfairly threatened as well as that of the fans of the club.
It is becoming increasingly evident that the English top flight is attracting individuals who are there to cause trouble. The reason behind this being the increased media coverage of the English game.
As I have already mentioned, the media has become increasingly influential in the intensification of rivalries. Games involving teams such as Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, West Ham United, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur have become so publicised and hyped that fans find it as their responsibility to fuel the atmosphere by directing abuse towards the opposition fans.
However, grounds such as Anfield and Upton Park have become famous as a result of atmosphere fuelled by anthems. For example, even though I am a Manchester United fan, I have a desire to visit Anfield JUST to hear "You'll Never Walk Alone" live and in person. I have been to Upton Park and the atmosphere in the ground when "Blowing Bubbles" (I am sorry if that is not the actual name of the song) was sung was like nothing I have ever seen before.
Unfortunately, at the same game at Upton Park when I went to see Manchester United play West Ham last season, fans from both sides spent most of the game chanting abuse at one another to the point that they were not ACTUALLY watching the game itself.
Hatred amongst fans has become synonymous with the Barclays Premier League, and it is a worrying trend. Speaking of trends, I have seen far too many examples of fans telling players AND fans of opposition teams to kill themselves or other abusive comments. Even worse is examples of fans from the same team hurling abuse at one another, a trend which makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time.
As I have said already, I acknowledge that misbehaviour among fans is not solely present in the English game with heavily publicised games such as the Old Firm Derby and El Classico coming to mind in terms of examples of fan disruption (a pig head being thrown at Luis Figo by Barcelona fans is the most infamous example).
However, due to the increased attention given to the English game by mainstream media and social media alike means that rivalry among fans is becoming an increasingly worrying trend. At the West Ham vs Man United game I found myself sitting amongst Hammers' fans as my dad is a West Ham fan and I was too afraid to wear a Manchester United jersey. This fear was even more frustrating as I was unable to celebrate Rooney's famous long range goal in case of drawing attention.
Granted, that fear may have been over-exaggerated but that fear and apprehension being there in the first place surely means that the level of fan rivalry has gone too far!