the thing about soccer

i was in my sociology lecture this afternoon, not really paying attention when i heard people start talking about soccer and how it is related to crime. what i heard though was very interesting, so i thought i might just share it.
apparently when people are watching soccer there is a reduced amount of crime. i live in South Africa where crime is sky high, so you can imagine the reaction this statement caused. Take the world cup for example, the one that will be held in 2010.. this statement basically meant that in 2010 while the whole world will be watching soccer the crime level will decrease because soccer is a culture that is shaping us all to be one thing... as we are watching soccer we are all one, therefore no need for crime. interesting right? i can see where this statement is coming from... but from the way i see it, there is different types of crime, and some that i do not see soccer stopping... especially in South Africa for that matter.
there will be people from all over the world, with different ideas about different things.. this in itself is bound to cause conflict. that's one, two is we all support different teams... the people that oppose each other are bound to have conflict.. and the way i see it conflict leads to crime (in some cases).
my argument comes from the situation that is presented in England with all these different types of clubs for different soccer teams, and if you do not support that team you are not allowed into the club or even near it, and if you are there will be serious consequences. i get this idea from the movie Green Street Hooligans. true? i do not see why it could be any different now.. my teacher actually said today that the more people you are exposed to the more situations of conflict you will experience.
so say there is a yes and no to this thing about soccer... but it is something that i find very interesting and want to know if people believe that the culture of soccer can bring people so much closer that it can stop crime.. because if this really is true then this is our cure.. someone needs to alert the officials :)