| Summary: | This paper aims to present the ways in which the image of football fans as
hooligans is constructed in contemporary Serbian media; as an image of
actors whose actions produce damaging effect for the society. I focus on the
existence of terminological misunderstanding surrounding the definition of a
football fan occurring between the local media and the official
policymakers. From one side, the omni-present violence, both verbal and
actual one, is very often overlooked in media reporting. From the other
side, the individuals, often with a criminal record, are titled as
fan-leaders and are being sensationalized and placed as the signifiers of
the entire group. The latter creates an image of criminal activity as an act
of fanbased, hooligan action. When constructed in this way the made
discourse is translated from public perception to the realms of policy
making; marking the violent acts at sporting events as a security issue the
state institutions are not capable to handle.
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