He knew that the ring leader

was in danger of losing face in front of his mates so, as they
came out of the cellar and back into the bar, he would
overtly make a fuss of the guy -arm round the shoulder and
free pint from behind the bar. This meant that the lad could
go back to his mates and they'd be none the wiser as to what
had gone on. Only he and the gaffer would know, and that
was enough because once he had control of the one he had
control of the ten.
I loopholed a lot when I worked as a nightclub doorman. If a
guy was looked as though he might start trouble I'd pull him
to one side and say, 'Hey man don't you respect me? I
thought we were friends?'
'Yeah I respect you, but that wanker over there ...I'm gonna
kill him.'