The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism by Chris Lee

03/02/2023  -  2.07

Book Review by Alex Alexandrou

First things first, this is not a book about Ultras and the author does not take a political stance. From my perspective, this ensures the book is a required and valuable addition to the literature that intersects football, politics, the military, society and war. It is a very accessible and readable book that will of interest to a wide audience.

It is clear Chris Lee has put much effort and thought into this book. It is well set out with a clear structure that allows one chapter to flow into the next in a logical order. The chapters deal with Italy, Iberia, Central and Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, Latin America and Britain. 

Notably, in my view, the author has been very smart in how he presents his work from both historical and modern contexts. This allows the reader to gain insights and overviews that are not restricted to one historical period. Thus, the author creates a timeline the reader can follow with ease.

The reader will gain an informative insight as to how totalitarian regimes such as Mussolini’s Fascist state in Italy, the Nazis in Germany, the authoritarian nationalist dictatorships of Franco in Spain and Salazar in Portugal, along with the military dictatorships of Latin American nations such as Argentina, identified that football would be a significant propaganda tool to cement and attempt to legitimize their regimes. 

The manner in which the Italian Fascists achieved this and how Chris Lee explains their approach, can be regarded as a must read case study. Notably, in terms of manipulating major tournaments such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games to their obvious national and international advantage.

The author provides a variety of examples of how football and footballers acted as tools of resistance during the Second World War, in countries such as France, Greece, Hungary, Netherlands and Yugoslavia. Whilst the description of football being played in the Nazi concentration camps adds another vital but much needed element to this book.

Chris Lee has a knack of moving the narrative forward from the historical fascist regimes to the modern day, in a seamless manner. He achieves this by highlighting how certain clubs are dealing with the current threat posed by far right and fascist elements, that have identified football and certain football clubs as avenues and arenas where they can propagate their political views. 

Whilst the author details the activities of clubs such as St Pauli in Germany, that many of us will have heard of, significantly he highlights lesser known lower league and amateur teams. Such as, Club Deportivo Independiente de Vallecas in Spain; Tennis Borussia in Germany; St Ambreous FC in Italy and Clapton Community FC in England and their anti-fascist, equality and diversity activities. Whilst the relationship of Dulwich Hamlet of England and Altona 93 of Germany, provides the reader with an interesting case study of how smaller non-league clubs, can forge strong, inclusive relationships that lead to positive outcomes.

The chapter that deals with Eastern Europe and the Balkans provides an interesting insight from both a historical and current perspective that the activities of totalitarian regimes and far right supporters and political parties cannot always be either successfully or significantly countered, with the author presenting Poland as a case study in point.

The author concludes with this observation:

“Sport is political. It always has been and always will be. Politicians who would rather sport and politics didn’t mix have learned nothing from history. While some politicians have been able to exploit the sport for populist or propaganda reason, football can also be used as a force for good: to educate, to include, to break down barriers and come to together.”

Never truer words written.

The book is published by Pitch Publishing and is available through the publisher’s website at: https://pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop - £12.99, softback, 256 pages

Alex Alexandrou is the Co-Founder and Chair of the Football and War Network