I'm Irish. Well used to this binge-drinking culture that pervades the UK too. I've drunk way too much since I could pass for 18 at the off-license. I've also spent 1/3 of my life in other European cultures, where pubs are open longer, and people get just as pissed, but don't have such a violent reaction to getting drunk. My question is this: Is it a cultural thing, do you think? I'm all for longer pub-opening hours, as well as more liberal laws regarding drugs, but I know that my reaction to being pissed isn't rampant testosterone-fueled-limit-testing. So what is the cause of the violence? That's what I'd like to see addressed, and I don't think that it's alcohol. Most of the football violence wasn't alcohol fueled. It was pre-meditated and seemed to be latent anger and boredom channeled into kicks and punches. For me, blaming alcohol isn't right. Perhaps it's a mitigating catalyst, but it's not the source of the latent violence.