Man United fans record most arrests in England and Wales last season
18 Jul 2025 08:53am
United supporters hold a protest inside the stadium against the owners ahead of kick-off in the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Aston Villa at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on May 25, 2025. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP)
LONDON - Manchester United recorded the highest number of supporter arrests among all clubs in England and Wales last season, according to data released by the British Home Office on Thursday, reported PA Media/dpa.
There were 121 arrests of United supporters in the 2024-25 campaign, putting the Red Devils ahead of Manchester City (94) and West Ham (77). Manchester United's Portuguese head coach Ruben Amorim and players applaud fans after the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and West Ham United at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on May 11, 2025. - AFP file photo
West Ham had the highest number of fans arrested in each of the previous three seasons, the Home Office said.
Forty nine per cent of the arrests of United fans occurred at home games, with 34 of them for public or violent disorder.
The number of football-related arrests overall dropped by 11 per cent to 1,932 compared to 2023-24, and marks the first drop since fans returned to stadiums after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The most common arrest type was public disorder (32 per cent). The percentage of arrests for possession of Class A drugs was the highest since it became a Schedule 1 offence in November 2022, up to 19 per cent from an initial nine per cent in 2022-23.
The number of matches with reported incidents increased by 18 per cent, from 1,341 to 1,583.
A total of 2,439 banning orders were in force as of June 1, 2025, an increase of 12 per cent compared with the end of the previous season, and the highest number in force since the end of the 2012-13 season.
Banning orders prevent individuals from attending matches in the UK and individuals subject to orders can be ordered to hand over their passports to police before overseas matches and tournaments.
West Ham had the most supporters with a banning order in force at the end of last season, up from 93 to 112.
Manchester United were second with 108, up from 89. Chelsea's increase from 54 to 80 moved them up from eighth at the end of 2023-24 to third by June 2025.
Hate crime was the most commonly reported incident, occurring at 420 of the 1,583 matches where at least one incident was recorded. Of those 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 at matches rose from 341 in 2023-24, marking the highest figure on record since the Home Office began collecting such data in the 2017-18 season.
The number of online hate crimes recorded in connection to football decreased from 322 in 2023-24 to 212 last season. - BERNAMA-PA Media/dpa
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