A former Chelsea hooligan snubbed London firms when naming the toughest rivals he came up against.
Jason Marriner was a top hooligan in the Chelsea 'Headhunters' many years ago, earning the nickname 'The General' and even being referred to as the most notorious football hooligan in England.
He was put behind bars for six years after being found guilty of conspiracy and affray in 2000, following an undercover BBC documentary sting involving investigative journalist Donal MacIntyre.
The judge described him as a a “dangerous” man who “relished violence”.
Marriner later wrote books about his previous experiences and a couple of months back, appeared on the Liam Tuffs podcast to recall memories of the terraces.
Chelsea's Headhunters were a feared set of hooligans in their pomp. Image: Getty He was in doubt that Tottenham, where he has some friends, were "without a doubt" Chelsea's fiercest rivals when it came to clashes between fans.
However, when asked if they were the toughest opponents he faced, he name-dropped two of other firms who he battled with.
“We’ve had some good gigs with Tottenham,” Marriner explained.
“Fantastic gigs. But I’ve got to tell you, there’s places, the Grimsbys if you like, and the Birminghams…”
Marriner told stories of his hooligan past on the Liam Tuffs podcast. Image: Liam Tuffs / YouTube Chelsea hooligan's frightening moment
Though he stressed that he has now matured over time and lives in Thailand, he still proceeded to tell tales of some of the violence he was very much involved in back in the day.
In one instance, he remembered a time where he was bottled by a Sheffield United fan during an away trip before all hell broke loose and things went "ballistic".
“We was in a place called Berlins in Sheffield and it was a big place," he recalled.
|If I tell you there was 70 80 of us, there was. A lot of our lot were up the back.
“I’ve come to the bar, geezer’s half recognised me from away games, knew I was Chelsea straight away, said something to me, and I said ‘f*** off, who are you ya'. Next thing you know it’s off, bang bang bang we are off.
"Bottled me, stuck the bottle on me eyebrow, that’s opened up, boom boom boom, all of a sudden the squirmish, they’ve all come down and it has gone ballistic.
“Doorman don’t want to know, we are sent out, they (Sheffield United fans) are all outside. We’ve put their beloved team down ain’t we.
“In the middle of the road they have fences, but was like sort of bushes over the fence, they are coming out of the bushes and all sorts, if it is in the middle of the road.
"My pal from Sheffield, who is Wednesday (Sheffield Wednesday fan), used to come to Chelsea, the dog has bit him on the thing (points to side) and I mean it has gone ballistic, absolutely.”