Red Army (football)

The Red Army is a hooligan firm who follow English football club Manchester United. Although today the term Red Army is used mostly to refer to fans of the club in general, the hooligan firm has been one of the largest firms in British football.[1] Firm members – and the firm itself – are sometimes known as the Men in Black, due to the members dressing in all black clothing.[2] In his book Hotshot, Red Army hooligan Harry Gibson states that there are also sub-divisions of the firm known as the Young Munichs,[3] the Inter City Jibbers[4] (ICJ), the M58 Firm and the Moston Rats.[5] In his book Undesirables, Colin Blaney has also stated that the ICJ is dedicated to carrying out acquisitive forms of crime in addition to football hooliganism. He claims that members of the group have been involved in smuggling drugs to Europe and Asia from Latin America and the Caribbean, organizing jail breaks, carrying out armed robberies, travelling overseas to Asia and mainland Europe in order to steal jewellery and committing street robberies. It is the criminal wing of the Red Army.[6]

  1. ^ O'Kane, John (10 June 2006). "No beef with United in my 21 years in Celtic hooligan firm". Scotland On Sunday. Johnston Press Digital Publishing. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
  2. ^ Mackaskill, Sandy (22 December 2007). "Men In Black origins in Brick Lane violence". Telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  3. ^ Blaney, Colin (2013). Hotshot. Milo Books. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-908479-41-9.
  4. ^ Blaney, Colin (2013). Hotshot. Milo Books. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-908479-41-9.
  5. ^ Blaney, Colin (2013). Hotshot. Milo Books. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-908479-41-9.
  6. ^ Blaney, Colin (2014). Undesirables. John Blake. pp. 1–246. ISBN 978-1-78219-897-0.