Manchester United had the highest number of fans arrested during the 2024-25 season for either entering or being inside stadiums in possession of Class A drugs, new statistics have revealed.
Home Office data has revealed there were 1,932 football-related arrests relating to matches played in England and Wales last season, representing an 11 per cent decrease from the previous campaign.
In total, 1,803 football-related arrests involved supporters of clubs in the top six tiers in English football last season.
The figure represents a marked 12 per cent drop from the previous campaign, when 2,023 fans were arrested. It is the first drop since fans returned to stadiums following Covid-19.
However, perhaps the most alarming statistic, the numbers also revealed a huge rise in fans arrested for the possession of Class A drugs over the last three seasons.
After 200 arrests were made in 2022-23, that number has reason to 344 in 2023-24, and now 378 in 2024-15, marking a 189 per cent increase on the initial number.
Man United had the highest number of fans arrested last season, according to Home Office data
The number of fans arrested for possession of Class A drugs increased for the second consecutive season
| Club | Total arrests | |
|---|---|---|
| Man United | 27 | |
| West Ham | 26 | |
| Newcastle | 24 | |
| Liverpool | 18 | |
| Man City | 15 | |
| Everton | 14 | |
| Leeds | 13 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 12 | |
| Southampton | 12 | |
| Tottenham | 12 |
In total, Manchester United saw the most fans arrested for entering or being inside a stadium win possession of Class A drugs across last season with 27.
West Ham (26), Newcastle (24), Liverpool (18), Manchester City (15), Everton (14), Leeds (13), Sheffield Wednesday (12), Southampton (12) and Tottenham (12) also saw high numbers of arrests for the same offence.
Man United were confirmed to have had the most amount of fans arrested during the season with 121.
In total, 49 per cent of those arrested came during the Red Devils’ matches at their Old Trafford home, which at 74,310 is the biggest in the Premier League. Violent disorder and public disorder were the most common offence, with 34 arrests made.
Earlier this week, a Man United season ticket holder was given a three-year Football Banning Order for slapping Man City star Jack Grealish after the Manchester derby in April. The fan was also fined £120, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a surcharge of £48.
Man City had the second highest number of arrests at 94, with West Ham in third on 77. West Ham had previously had the highest number of supporters arrested for three consecutive seasons.
Chelsea and Aston Villa completed the top five with 76 and 71 arrests respectively. Aston Villa had the biggest increase having had 26 fans arrested the previous season.
Man United, Man City, Chelsea and Aston Villa were all involved in European competition last season, while West Ham were only involved in domestic action with the Hammers out of Europe after three straight years.
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Arsenal had the sharpest decline in the number of fans arrested last season with a drop of 43. This followed the Gunners having the largest increase in the 2023-24 season with 34.
The Home Office stated that there was a higher proportion of arrests of away supporters, with 980 arrested during the season in comparison at 806 at home games.
While 89 per cent – 1,725 arrests – related to matches in domestic competitions in England and Wales, the figures revealed 10 per cent – 189 arrests – came from matches played in European competitions. One per cent – 18 arrests – came from international matches.
A further 31 arrests related to matches played outside of England and Wales, with none recorded in international fixtures held abroad.
The Home Office added that the most common arrest type was for public disorder, which accounted for 32 per cent. This was followed by violent disorder at 22 per cent and the possession of Class A drug at 19 per cent.
The latter was at its highest level since it became a Schedule 1 offence in November 2022, with arrests rising from an initial nine per cent in 2022-23.
From June 1, there were 2,439 banning orders in place with 685 new orders issued over a 10-month period from August 1, 2024, to May 31. (1 August 2024 to 31 May 2025)
The banning orders prevent individuals from attending matches in the UK and can lead to fans being ordered to hand over passports to police before overseas matches and tournaments.
The figure is the highest number since the end of the 2012-12 season, while the total is up by 12 per cent from the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
West Ham had the highest number of fans with banning orders for the second consecutive season, up from 93 to 112.
Man United have the second highest with 108, followed by Chelsea on 80. Their banning orders increased from 89 and 54 respectively. Man City and Leicester round off the top five with 76 and 70 banning orders in place.
The Home Office stated that during the 2024 to 2025 season, West Ham, Chelsea and Manchester United supporters were issued the highest number of new football banning orders, with 39, 31 and 28 respectively.
Policing Minister, Dame Diana Johnson, stated that the data reflects the efforts made to stop violence and disorder around football matches, with £2.5m provided annually to help fund the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit.
‘Police up and down the country work incredibly hard to ensure football stadiums are safe, so we can all enjoy our national game,’ she said.
‘Today’s statistics show that these efforts are paying off and strong action is being taken to stop violence and disorder from ruining football.
‘As part of our Plan for Change, we are continuing to make football safer for the millions of dedicated fans, funding the UK Football Policing Unit and expanding drug testing on arrest at football matches for certain offences.’
In total, 1,803 football-related arrests involved supporters of clubs in the top six tiers in English football last season
Despite the decrease in arrests, the number of matches with reported incidents increased by 18 per cent from 1,341 to 1,583.
Hate crime was the most commonly reported incident at 420 matches, followed by the throwing of missiles and use of pyrotechnics at 363 and 319 matches, respectively.
Of the hate crime reports, 287 incidents related to race, 140 to sexual orientation, 20 to religion, 19 to disability and three to gender identity.
The number of hate crime reports was up from 341 in the 2023-24 season.
Online hate crime incidents recorded decreased from 322 in the 2023-24 campaign to 212 last season.
Of these, 199 related to men’s and 13 related to women’s football.
