6 days ago
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A former Tottenham Hotspur hooligan has named the best firm in the country, admitting that their top rivals had a "psychological edge". Frank Portinari, who later became embroiled with the loyalist paramilitaries of the London Ulster Defence Association and was convicted for gun smuggling, reminisced about his days as a Spurs hooligan on the Criminal Connection podcast.
Before his involvement with the paramilitary group in Belfast, he was a fervent football fan from North London, following Spurs through the 70s and 80s and engaging in fights with opposing supporters.
During the podcast, he praised the northern firms as "tough blokes" from large industrial towns, describing those perilous away games as akin to "taking your life in your hands".
Yet, when it came to the most malicious mobs, he pointed to those closer to home. When pressed to identify the best firms, he acknowledged several adversaries.
He remarked: "If I focus on London, I am honest enough to say this now that the late 60s, early 70s, I don't think people gave them credit, Arsenal had a naughty mob of fellas. And it changed because I remember when Tottenham eclipsed Arsenal so to speak and we would regularly go their end of the ground and take the p*** really to be honest."
But for the top spot, he conceded: "Probably West Ham. I think West Ham because what they are always attributed with is being organised and they did seem to always be organised."
Apart from the Hammers, he insisted Millwall always warranted recognition, though he qualified this by noting that Spurs rarely faced them due to being in separate divisions.
However, there was one memorable encounter on Boxing Day in 1976, when Millwall hosted Spurs at the notorious Den. Recalling the events, Frank stated: "That is some of the worst violence I ever seen. Probably the worst violence in England that I have seen.
"There had been a documentary before (BBC Panorama) and it kind of built it all up. After the game it was crazy. I seen a fella put a screwdriver through someone's cheek and they were kicking down walls, throwing bricks at each other, and wooden fencing. And there were even railings and they got the rails and the frames of like spears.
"I will make no bones about it. I think we gave a really good account of ourselves but I was glad to get back home and get in the local pub to be honest.
"It is the worst, definitely the worst, and I have seen some mad ones over the years, but how somebody didn't die that day, I am genuinely shocked they didn't."
Returning to the initial query, he concluded: "But no, I would have to say West Ham. They always kind of had it over us psychologically."
Frank, author of Loyalist Paramilitary Gunrunner, added: "We have had our times with West Ham but consistently over the years, I will probably have to credit West Ham.
"But you could say Manchester United, they had thousands of supporters, they weren't called the Red Army for nothing. They had fans all over."
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