Nothing Will Be the Same Again After the Stade de France Attack: Reflections of Association Football Fans on Terrorism, Security and Surveillance

Following the attempted terrorist attack at the friendly match between France and Germany at the Stade de France on November 13, 2015, this article draws on the response of 1,500 association football fans to the threat of terrorism in the world’s most popular sport. Its primary focus was to ask fans to reflect on their own experiences of security and surveillance and what extent the attempted attack on the Stade de France will have on the management of football crowds. Drawing on the themes of surveillance devised by Michel Foucault, the results outline how some fans accept additional measures of security and surveillance as a means of protecting their safety but others resist this as overly excessive and intrusive and argue it negatively affects their match-day experience. The article concludes by reflecting on the management of football crowds given the response by fans and the changes already taking place since November 2015