IT is no longer hooliganism but the British binge drinking culture that puts fans in danger during football matches on foreign soil.

In just the last two years, matchday incidents have been reported involving Manchester United fans at Roma, Liverpool at the Champions League Final in Athens, Arsenal at Real Madrid, Tottenham at Sevilla, Middlesbrough at Basel and Rangers at Osasuna as well as both Bolton and Aberdeen at Atletico Madrid.

On most occasions, British fans have largely been innocent and the days are long gone - at club level at least - when large groups of people travel abroad looking for trouble.

But, rather than simply demanding an explanation from authorities overseas, we also have to look at ourselves and ask why the problems are still happening.

Undoubtedly the reputation of violence gained in the 1970s and 1980s does not help.

In Serbia, now one of the most dangerous places to watch football in Europe, troublemakers still refer to the English as 'the founders of hooliganism'.

Last week Spain's leading sports newspaper, Marca, ran with a story with the headline 'Los hooligans vuelven al Calderon' ('the hooligans return to the Calderon') ahead of Atletico Madrid's first home game against English opposition for 10 years. Such a tag is outdated and bordering on racism.

But Britain still does have a problem and we all know it.

Binge drinking has attracted enough headlines in this country and it plays a big part in incidents with British supporters abroad.

Not only do British fans travel across Europe in greater numbers than almost any other nationality, many of them drink far more than their foreign counterparts while they are there.

Many drink throughout the day of the game and arrive at the stadium drunk - a significantly higher proportion than for a Premier League match.

Many fans - keen to squeeze in as much drinking time as possible - arrive at the last minute at a stadium where they have never been before and where facilities do not match those in the Premier League.

Maybe closing the away turnstiles well before kick-off could be considered because that would force fans to arrive earlier and give them time to find their seat without the panic of missing the start of the match.

Currently the chances of drunk supporters quickly finding their seat - with poor signage around the stadium and tickets in a language they cannot understand - are slim.

When the away section is sold out, that can lead to a large degree of chaos.

Even in the most modern all-seater stadiums, British fans tend to stand up throughout the entire game in Europe and many stand in the aisles rather than finding their seat.

I honestly dread to think what would happen if a large-scale fire broke out in a packed away section.

The ingredients are there for problems, just like they were on crumbling terraces across Britain in the 1980s.

Add in foreign police having a sterner, often brutal, approach to such chaos and opposition fans wanting to make their mark against the founders of hooliganism', then it is no surprise that problems happen as often as they do.

So, yes, we should urge foreign police forces and UEFA to protect our fans better when they travel abroad.

But we shouldn't hold our breath for the response we're looking for.

And until we change our own habits, the problems will not go away.