Football arrests continued to rise last season although the latest increase can be attributed to the addition of drug possession as an offence under the Football Spectators Act, new figures from the Home Office show.
There were a total of 2,264 football-related arrests during the 2022-23 season, up from what was already an eight-year high of 2,198 the previous campaign.
But that increased figure included 200 arrests for the possession of class A drugs, added as an offence under the Football Spectators Act in November 2022, and 101 arrests in England and Wales that related to the World Cup in Qatar.
The figures released on Thursday counted arrests made in England and Wales relating to fixtures played overseas for the first time.
The rise in the number of arrests was reflected in 682 new football banning orders being imposed, the highest number since 2010-11 and up 32 per cent on the previous season, with the total number of banning orders being in force rising to 1,624, up 24 per cent on the previous total of 1,308.
However, the total remains lower than the pre-pandemic number of 1,771. Banning orders last for a minimum of three years.
The Home Office said the number of matches with reported incidents decreased by six per cent.
West Ham topped the table for the number of arrests by club with 89, six more than Manchester United. Leeds had the third highest total with 69, the highest increase (+25) of any club from the previous year.
The figures counted data from matches involving clubs from the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship for the first time, although there were no arrests at any of the women’s games.
With overall attendance up to 45million at the matches included in the results, the number of arrests worked out at 5.0 per 100,000 fans, down from 5.2 per 100,000 the previous season.
Last year’s figures had been released following a spate of high-profile incidents involving pitch-invading fans – with custodial sentences imposed on a Leicester fan and a Nottingham Forest supporter – but arrests for such offences are down 53 per cent (166 incidents) this time around.
Of the 682 new banning orders imposed, 99.6 per cent were given to males, with 70 per cent of them aged 18-34 and two per cent aged 17 or under.
Manchester United had the highest number with 69, the first time the Old Trafford club had been in the top five for banning orders since 2016-17. Millwall were second with 66.
A total of 123 arrests were made related to overseas matches involving England and Wales. While 101 were connected with the men’s World Cup in Qatar, none were related to the Women’s World Cup.
The number of recorded incidents of online hate crime was 234, up from 103 the previous year, although this rise was attributed to better reporting and recording of such incidents.
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Stefano Pioli urges AC Milan to get Serie A title challenge back on track
AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli admitted his side must get their Serie A title challenge back on track with victory in Saturday’s home game against Frosinone.
Just one win in their previous five league matches has seen Milan slip six points behind leaders Inter and four behind second-placed Juventus.
A home Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund in midweek left Milan bottom of their group and while they can still qualify for the knockout stages with one game to play, the pressure is mounting on Pioli.
The 58-year-old former Lazio, Inter and Fiorentina head coach told a press conference: “Frosinone are doing very well and have confidence, (Eusebio) Di Francesco is doing a great job.
“They are aggressive, but we know how to cause them problems. We want to win, and we need to. We need points, the league campaign is long.
“As usual, we’ll need to show concentration, determination and quality. We need to show we are still competitive and put in a good performance.”
Milan beat Pioli’s former club Fiorentina 1-0 at the San Siro last week to halt a domestic league run of two draws and two defeats and a slump in form has coincided with a lengthy injury list.
Pioli was without half a dozen key players for Tuesday night’s loss to Dortmund and saw defender Malick Thiaw forced off early in the second half.
Thiaw will not feature against Frosinone and Olivier Giroud is still suspended, while Rafael Leao, Noah Okafor, Pierre Kalulu, Simon Kjaer, Marco Pellegrino and Mattia Caldara are unlikely to feature.
Pioli added: “There are still 25 league games to play. I told the players not to come in on Thursday to Milanello if they didn’t believe we could reach Inter and Juventus.”
Frosinone boss Di Francesco has injury concerns of his own as his 10th-placed side bid to halt their poor away form, with Luca Mazzitelli, Riccardo Marchizza, Pol Lirola, Francesco Gelli and Marco Brescianini all doubtful.
Frosinone’s impressive start to the season after promotion has been built on five wins and a draw in seven home league matches, but they are winless on the road.
Di Francesco told a press conference: “We need to get this obstacle out of our heads. We made the last point (on the road) in Salerno (in September).
“We need to try to approach the away match with the right attitude. Here at home, however, we feel stronger when going to face our opponents. This way of thinking certainly needs to be changed.”
Aston Villa complain to UEFA over ‘shocking behaviour’ of Legia Warsaw fans
Aston Villa have lodged an official complaint with UEFA over the behaviour of Legia Warsaw fans ahead of the Europa Conference League clash at Villa Park.
Almost 50 people were arrested following violence involving the visiting fans prior to kick-off on Thursday night.
Missiles were thrown at police as the Polish supporters were held in a coach park near the ground before they were due to enter the stadium.
West Midlands Police said four officers were injured and, although the game started on time, no Legia fans were allowed in ahead of kick-off.
Villa also accused Legia officials of a “complete lack of cooperation” with themselves, the police and UEFA.
Villa said in a statement: “Aston Villa can confirm it has lodged an official complaint with UEFA over the conduct of Legia Warsaw Football Club and the behaviour of their supporters prior to last night’s UEFA Europa Conference League match at Villa Park.
“Four police officers were injured and 46 Legia supporters arrested after unprecedented violence by the Polish fans outside the stadium.
“This shocking behaviour followed Legia club officials’ complete lack of cooperation with West Midlands Police, Aston Villa and UEFA throughout the day.
“It started during the standard pre-match operational meeting that commenced at 10.30am on Thursday morning and was attended by UEFA representatives, including UEFA’s security team, as well as West Midlands Police including representatives from both clubs.
“Legia Warsaw refused to confirm if they would accept their allocation of tickets for the match at that point. This is in stark contrast to normal UEFA operational procedures.
“They advised the meeting that they would meet with their supporters at 2.30pm and communicate the decision at 3pm, but advised there was a possibility that they would not accept the tickets.
“Despite repeated requests before and after the 3pm deadline for a decision, there was no communication until 4pm when Legia informed Aston Villa that they wished to receive their ticket allocation.
“These tickets were handed to Legia officials immediately upon their arrival at the stadium at 6.16pm. To reiterate, Legia officials were advised on a call that included a number of UEFA representatives on November 2 that they would receive an allocation of 1,002 – exactly four weeks prior to last night’s fixture.”
Chris Heck, president of business operations at Villa, said: “The lack of cooperation and prevarication from Legia Warsaw officials prior to the match was entirely unacceptable and deeply disappointing.
“This behaviour increased the danger that West Midlands Police officers and our own fans were subjected to before the game and the scenes of disorder from the Legia fans have no place in modern football or civilised society.
“Aston Villa will be making further representations to UEFA in order to ensure that other clubs and police forces across Europe are not exposed to similar serious safety risks at the hands of Legia Warsaw.
“We are immensely grateful to West Midlands Police for keeping our supporters and our local community safe last night and are pleased that they will also be making their own representations via the UK police authorities to UEFA.”
West Midlands Police chief inspector Tim Robinson said on Thursday evening: “This should have been a great evening of football which was enjoyed by fans from both clubs.
“Unfortunately, there were appalling scenes which saw away fans dangerously throw flares and other missiles at our officers.”
He said the “extreme violence” left police with no other choice but to prevent away fans entering the stadium, adding: “The safety of everyone is our priority, and clearly we had no other option.”
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