‘The wrath of the oppressed’: Protest mobilisation and visual infrapolitics of sports supporters after the Tempi train crash (Greece)

Abstract This study provides sociological insight into contemporary fandom activism by examining how subaltern groups seek visibility through displaying innovative banners during ritualised performances in football stadium stands. Employing a netnographic approach, the study analyses the political reflections and visualities of campaigns by sports supporters following the deadliest train crash in Greek history: the Tempi train crash of 2023. The study argues that in the age of anti-politics, a visual infrapolitics triggered by fleeting instances of social injustice is emerging outside the institutional political sphere. It highlights the diversity of protest voices and the rebellious politics of mourning, articulated through social critique and visual mobilisation, thus providing a clearer understanding of subaltern forms of political expression. These range from aggressive counter-visualities by supporters acting as a vocal vanguard in the fight against state ills through a subcultural fandom style to political proclamations against capitalism and neoliberalism, as well as the visualities of poetic lament in ritualised mourning performances.