Notorious ex-Chelsea hooligan doesn't hesitate in naming 'biggest' rival firm

A notorious former Chelsea hooligan did not hesitate when asked to name their biggest rival firm – before speaking about the toughest away days he'd ever attended.

Jason Marriner, nicknamed The General, has been labelled as the most notorious football hooligan in Britain. He was a leading member of the Chelsea Headhunters gang before his firm was famously infiltrated by journalist Donal MacIntrye for an undercover BBC documentary sting.

Marriner was jailed for conspiracy and affray in 2000 with the judge concluding that he was a “dangerous” man who “relished violence” and showed “little if any regard for other people or the law”.

The Chelsea fan, who now lives in Thailand and has released books about his hooliganism past, has opened up on the Liam Tuffs podcast.

Asked about the biggest rival of the Chelsea Headhunters, without skipping a beat, Marriner said: “Tottenham, you know, without a doubt.

Responding, Liam asked: “Were they the toughest fights as well?”

“We’ve had some good gigs with Tottenham,” Marriner said. “Fantastic gigs. But I’ve got to tell you, there’s places, the Grimsbys if you like, and the Birminghams…”

After explaining the toughness of the northerners, he then spoke about whether he had ever got hurt at football.

Laughing, he said: “Yeah, loads of times, yeah. And then you think, well that’s the end of that, and next week you are back in the swindle aren’t you.”

Then, expanding on the "hairiest moments” as a football hooligan, he mentioned one game in particular.

The year was 1994 and Chelsea beat Sheffield United in the final game of the league season which relegated the Yorkshire team.

And Marriner said: “We was in a place called Berlins in Sheffield and it was a big place. If I tell you there was 70 80 of us, there was. A lot of our lot were up the back.

“I’ve come to the bar, geezer’s half recognised me from away games, knew I was Chelsea straight away, said something to me, and I said ‘f*** off, who are you ya'. Next thing you know it’s off, bang bang bang we are off.

“Bottled me, stuck the bottle on me eyebrow, that’s opened up, boom boom boom, all of a sudden the squirmish, they’ve all come down (Chelsea fans) and it has gone ballistic.

“Doorman don’t want to know, we are sent out, they (Sheffield United fans) are all outside. We’ve put their beloved team down ain’t we.

“In the middle of the road they have fences, but was like sort of bushes over the fence, they are coming out of the bushes and all sorts, if it is in the middle of the road.

“My pal from Shieffield, who is Wednesday (Sheffield Wednesday fan), used to come to Chelsea, the dog has bit him on the thing (points to side) and I mean it has gone ballistic, absolutely.”

Asked if the football violence ever went too far, he said there was a code of conduct with hooligans where you didn’t kick someone’s head if they had fallen to the floor. Instead, you could “half give them a squeeze”.

And he said such a frightening situation once happened to him during a visit to West Ham United. He revealed: “I remember being chased at West Ham once, I don’t mind (admitting it).

“It was a night game, pitch black, it is dark, bang, kicked the back off me feet. I am tripped over ain’t I. I have curled up in a ball. I thought I was very lucky because where they have let’s say half a dozen, they are kicking the granny out of me, if it had been or two of them, I would have got hurt.

“But because there are half a dozen, they are all fighting each other to get at me.”

He then said the “code of conduct” prevented him from getting seriously assaulted.

Marriner also said he has matured with age, and has no problem what colour, race, religion or football team you support, as long as you have morals and respect.

He even acknowledged they were “all the same” and “just support a different club” and he added: “I mean, I’ve got some fantastic Tottenham pals.”