Explaining the role of identity fusion in the violence of football fans

Football fan violence has emerged as a critical global issue in recent years. Despite extensive research on violence in sports, existing studies have predominantly focused on causative factors while overlooking the nuanced perspectives of key stakeholders, particularly fans. This study adopts a novel approach using social identity fusion theory to comprehensively analyze fan behavior dynamics. Social identity fusion represents an intense form of group identification where individual and collective identities become deeply intertwined, generating powerful motivational forces that can drive high-cost behaviors benefiting the group. The theory emphasizes how personal self-perception and intragroup relationships contribute to significant collective actions, especially when psychological and physiological conditions intensify group solidarity. Employing a qualitative phenomenological methodology, this research examined a diverse sample of 70 participants, including football fans, sports experts, stadium managers, club academy directors, and related stakeholders from Iranian football clubs. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews and analyzed using Smith's interpretive phenomenological approach. Comprehensive qualitative analysis revealed 196 initial themes, which were synthesized into 21 sub-themes and three primary themes. The findings demonstrate that contextual factors, identity fusion mechanisms, and institutional elements collectively constitute a complex framework explaining the emergence and manifestation of football fan violence. The research contributes significantly to understanding the psychological and social dynamics underlying fan behavior, offering insights that extend beyond traditional explanatory models of sports-related aggression.