This paper draws upon digital recordings of Northern Ireland football fans singing in the stadium during all 10 qualifying matches for the 2016 UEFA European Football Championship. Supplemented by participant observation and interview data with 21 supporters themselves, the paper challenges assertions within the literature which focus upon the predominance of sectarian singing amongst a section of Northern Ireland football supporters. Although vocal manifestations of football fandom may initially appear to be randomly driven by irrational emotions, on the contrary, there is an underlying structure and sequence to fandom in the stadium in which certain factors promote collective singing at particular times. The paper identifies four key themes in particular: the timing in a match; whether or not a goal has been scored; if there is a lull or a break in play; and the use of musical instruments to encourage the wider collective to sing. We argue that it is important to understand the process by which collective singing occurs in the football stadium rather than fixating upon the alleged racist or sectarian psychopathology of the individuals involved. Such knowledge may assist in supporting those fan organisations that seek to challenge discriminatory behaviour in the stadium, particularly in the current context of the European (UEFA) and World football governing bodies (FIFA) punishing fans collectively, regardless of whether or not the majority in the stadium are opposed to what is being sung in their name.

本文借鉴了北爱尔兰足球迷在2016年欧洲足球锦标赛的所有10场资格赛中在体育场唱歌的数字记录。在参与者观察和访谈数据以及21名支持者本人的补充下，本文对文献中的断言提出了挑战，这些主张侧重于北爱尔兰足球支持者中宗派唱歌的优势。尽管足球狂热的声音表现最初可能看起来是由非理性情绪随机驱动的，但是相反，体育场内狂热的基础结构和顺序是某些因素在特定时间促进集体歌唱的基础。本文特别指出了四个关键主题：比赛中的时间安排；是否进球？如果比赛停顿或休息；以及使用乐器来鼓励更广泛的集体唱歌。我们认为，重要的是要了解足球场中集体唱歌发生的过程，而不是着眼于所涉个人的所谓种族主义或宗派心理病理学。这些知识可以帮助支持那些试图挑战体育场内歧视性行为的球迷组织，尤其是在目前欧洲（UEFA）和世界足球管理机构（FIFA）对球迷进行集体惩罚的背景下，无论是否体育场反对以他们的名义演唱的歌曲。我们认为，重要的是要了解足球场中集体唱歌发生的过程，而不是着眼于所涉个人的所谓种族主义或宗派心理病理学。这些知识可以帮助支持那些试图挑战体育场内歧视性行为的球迷组织，特别是在目前欧洲（UEFA）和世界足球管理机构（FIFA）对球迷进行集体惩罚的背景下，无论是否体育场反对以他们的名义演唱的歌曲。我们认为，重要的是要了解足球场中集体唱歌发生的过程，而不是着眼于所涉个人的所谓种族主义或宗派心理病理学。这些知识可以帮助支持那些试图挑战体育场内歧视性行为的球迷组织，特别是在目前欧洲（UEFA）和世界足球管理机构（FIFA）对球迷进行集体惩罚的背景下，无论是否体育场反对以他们的名义演唱的歌曲。