West Ham top football-related arrests table as total figure hits nine-year high
West Ham have once again finished top of the table for football-related arrests, which have reached a nine-year high.
Hammers fans were arrested 89 times for football related incidents during the 2022/23 season, according to the latest figures from the Home Office. The report revealed that there were 2,264 football-related arrests last season in in England and Wales, which is the highest number since 2013/14 and an increase of 66 on the previous season.
However, football matches had a combined attendance of 45.4million people last season according to the Home Office figures. That suggests an arrest rate of just 0.005 per cent, or five arrests for every 100,000 people.
A total of 27 arrests of West Ham fans were for public disorder, while another 23 were for throwing missiles. That’s by far the highest number of arrests for throwing missiles. Manchester United had the next highest number of arrests with a total of 83 and United also had the most supporters with a banning order on 69, ahead of Millwall (66). In terms of arrests, Leeds United have the next most with 69, followed by Manchester City with 66, Arsenal with 51, Tottenham with 51 and Burnley with 50.
The Home Office did point out that the number of matches with reported incidents actually decreased by six per cent, with 93 fewer matches having incidents, compared with 1,609 matches in the 2021/22 season. However, there were some high profile cases of disorder last season which made for bad headlines.
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Tottenham fan Joseph Watts, 35, pleaded guilty to assault by beating after attacking Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on January 15. Watts kicked Ramsdale in the back and also admitted charges of going on to an area adjacent to the playing area and throwing a missile on to a football playing area. He was banned from all football stadiums in Britain for four years and given community service and fines.
Earlier this month, a Leeds supporter was jailed for three months for assaulting Newcastle manager Eddie Howe on the touchline. David Derbyshire ran onto the Elland Road pitch to confront Howe during the closing stages of Leeds’ 2-2 draw with Newcastle on May 13.
Incidents of hate crime fell at football matches last season. A total of 370 hate crimes were reported to police, down from 384 the season before.
Race hate crimes made up 248 of the total last season, down from 383 the season before. Sexual orientation hate crime was up to 119 incidents though from 106 the season before. Religious hate crime increased from 14 to 21 last season, while disability hate crime rose from eight to 15, and gender identity from three to four.
The number of active banning orders rose last season from 1,3088 to 1,624, with 682 new ones being issued. That’s the highest number of new banning orders since 2011 when 960 were issued.
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