Football-related arrests rise in England, Wales; West Ham with most cases

Soccer-related arrests are on the rise in England and Wales, the UK government said on Thursday. The most cases were recorded at West Ham United matches for the third year in a row.

There were 2,584 football-related arrests in the 2023-24 season a 14% increase on the previous year, figures released by the Home Office showed.

The government said the rise was driven by arrests relating to the possession of class-A drugs and this year's European Championship in Germany.

The rate of arrests over the season was 5.5 per 1,00,000 fans attending matches in the top six levels of men's English soccer, the Welsh league and the top two levels of women's soccer.

Statistics also covered matches involving the England and Wales national teams, the Champions League final staged at Wembley Stadium, and age group matches.

It is important that these figures are put into context. Last season around 47 million people attended men's domestic and international matches, the highest number we have on record, and the vast majority of football fans are law-abiding citizens who want to support their team," said Chief Constable Mark Roberts, who is the lead for soccer policing in the UK.

However, there are a small number of fans who commit offences, and we will continue to work closely with (prosecutors) and our other partners to ensure that those responsible are held accountable."

According to the figures, there were no arrests at women's matches, despite their growing popularity and increased attendance.

Figures showed 281 arrests related to Euro 2024 were made in England and Wales. A further 126 relating to the tournament were made overseas.

The club with the highest number of arrests was West Ham, with 103. Manchester City and Manchester United were joint second with 88. Arsenal was fourth (85) and Chelsea sixth (67).

West Ham also had the highest number of banning orders (93), with Man United second (89). Second-tier Millwall was third with 82 banning orders.

A banning order can last from three to 10 years and can be issued by courts for reasons such as a conviction for a soccer-related offence.

There were 825 new banning orders, the highest number since 2010-11. The most common type of arrest was for public disorder, which made up 43% of cases, with violent disorder making up 19%. Possession of class A drugs accounted for 13%.

The throwing of missiles was the most commonly reported incident, at 416 matches, with pyrotechnics reported at 394 matches.

There were reports of hate crime incidents in 341 matches, which related to issues including race (226) and sexual orientation (113). There were 423 incidents of online hate crime.