Official Statistics

Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales: 2022 to 2023 season

Updated 9 November 2023

Applies to England and Wales

© Crown copyright 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/football-related-arrests-and-banning-orders-2022-to-2023-season/football-related-arrests-and-banning-orders-england-and-wales-2022-to-2023-season

This release includes data, trends and football club comparisons on:

New to this release

Possession of class A drugs added to Schedule 1 offences
From 17 November 2022, the possession of class A drugs when entering, attempting to enter or inside a stadium, was added to Schedule 1 of the Football Spectators Act 1989. This means that arrests for these offences from this date are included in the football-related arrests statistics, and that a football banning order can be made following a conviction for this offence.

Domestic women’s competitions included as ‘regulated football matches’
From 1 July 2022, ‘regulated football matches’ included matches in which one or both teams are a member of the FA Women’s Super League, or the FA Women’s Championship. Therefore any football-related arrests, football banning orders and reported incidents of football-related anti-social behaviour, violence and disorder relating to these competitions are covered by this release.

Women’s international football matches and matches involving clubs playing against an overseas opposition were already included within the ‘regulated football match’ definition and are covered by this release.

Arrests in England and Wales relating to overseas matches included for the first time
Arrests made in England and Wales connected to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar are included in this release. This is the first release where football-related arrests such as these (where a major tournament match is overseas but the arrests occurred in England and Wales) have been included due to improved recording and reporting practices.

The user guide provides additional information on the coverage of the data, quality and methodology, information on the conventions used in the statistics, and relevant legislation.

The accompanying data tables provide supplementary data to this release.

1. Summary of statistics

1.1 Football banning orders

Data taken on 1 August 2023 showed there were a total of 1,624 football banning orders in force, an increase of 24% compared with 28 July 2022 (1,308). Within the 2022 to 2023 football season, 682 new banning orders were issued, an increase of 32% compared with the 2021 to 2022 football season.

In the 2022 to 2023 football season there were 2,264 football-related arrests under Schedule 1 of the Football Spectators Act 1989. This included 200 arrests for the possession of class A drugs, which became a Schedule 1 offence in November 2022, and 101 arrests in England and Wales relating to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The majority of arrests were of supporters of clubs in the top 5 English football divisions (90%).

1.3 Reported incidents at football matches

Incidents were reported at 1,516 football matches in the 2022 to 2023 football season (50% of a total 3,024 matches). The number of matches with reported incidents decreased by 6% (-93 matches) compared with 1,609 matches in the 2021 to 2022 season.

2. Football banning orders

Football banning orders are made by the courts to help prevent violence or disorder at, or in connection with, regulated football matches. An individual with a banning order is prevented from attending all regulated matches in the UK and may be required to hand over their passport to the police before overseas matches and tournaments. Banning orders are issued either following a conviction for a football-related offence or following a complaint by a local police force, British Transport Police (BTP), or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). A football banning order lasts for a minimum of 3 years and no more than 5 years, however in cases where a person was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for the original offence, an order lasts for a minimum of 6 years, and no more than 10 years. For more information, see the user guide.

2.1 Highest number of new football banning orders since the 2010 to 2011 season

During the 2022 to 2023 season there were 682 new banning orders issued, an increase of 32% (+166) compared with the 2021 to 2022 season, and the highest number issued since the 2010 to 2011 season (960).

Data taken on 1 August 2023 shows there were a total of 1,624 football banning orders in force. This is an increase of 24% compared with 28 July 2022 (1,308), with levels returning closer to those seen prior to COVID-19 (1,771 on 1 August 2019).

Figure 1: Number of football banning orders in force in England and Wales, from 2013 to 2014 football season to 2022 to 2023 football season

Source: Home Office, Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales: 2022 to 2023 season data tables, Table 1

Notes:

  1. Extraction dates of new banning order data varied slightly year-on-year. See the Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales: 2022 to 2023 season data tables for data extraction dates.

An individual can have multiple bans. Therefore, the number of bans is not equal to the number of individuals who have a ban.

2.2 Most football banning orders issued to males aged 18 to 34

Of the 1,624 football banning orders in force on 1 August 2023, almost all (99.6%; 1,618) were issued to males. Around 70% (1,133) were issued to those aged between 18 and 34 and 2% (39) were issued to those aged 17 and under.

2.3 Manchester United supporters had highest number of football banning orders in force

In the 2022 to 2023 season, Manchester United supporters had the highest number of football banning orders in force (69) and ranked in the top 5 for the first time since the 2016 to 2017 season (when they ranked fifth). Millwall supporters had the second highest number of football banning orders in force (66) and for the second consecutive season they ranked in the top 5. West Ham United had the fifth highest number of football banning orders in force (52) and ranked in the top 5 for the first time since the 2019 to 2020 season (when they ranked second). The top 5 clubs with the highest number of football banning orders in force are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Clubs with the highest number of football banning orders, 2022 to 2023 season compared with 2021 to 2022 season

Football club 2022 to 2023 season 2022 to 2023 season 2021 to 2022 season 2021 to 2022 season
  Football banning orders Ranking Football banning orders Ranking
Manchester United 69 1 24 14 (joint)
Millwall 66 2 52 2
Leicester City 56 3 36 5 (joint)
Birmingham City 54 4 57 1
West Ham United 52 5 34 8

Source: Home Office, Football banning order statistics, England and Wales: detailed datasets

In the 2022 to 2023 season, Manchester United (52), West Ham United (27) and Middlesbrough (23) supporters were issued the highest number of new football banning orders.

A banning order may be imposed by a court in the season after the incident happened, so some relate to arrests from the previous season. An order can only be made by a court, which means the time between an arrest and the order being made can vary in length. For example, an individual arrested during the 2022 to 2023 football season would be included in the 2022 to 2023 arrest figures, but a football banning order may not be made until sometime later. This means the football banning order would form part of the figures of a future year’s release.

3. Football-related arrests

Statistics on football-related arrests are submitted by the 43 Home Office police forces in England and Wales, and by the BTP, to the UKFPU. Within this report, ‘football-related arrests’ are arrests for offences under Schedule 1 of the Football Spectators Act 1989. These include football-specific offences (such as pitch incursion (running onto the pitch) and throwing missiles inside a stadium) and other offences connected with regulated football matches, such as assault, criminal damage and the possession of weapons.

Regulated football matches include domestic football matches involving English and Welsh clubs in the top 6 levels of men’s English football (Premier League to National League North and South), the Cymru Premier, Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship, matches involving the national teams of England and Wales, and some associated age group matches (under 18 and above).

A person may be arrested at a football match for an offence not included in Schedule 1, for example theft. These arrests are listed as ‘other arrests’.

During the 2022 to 2023 football season, there were 2,264 football-related arrests reported in connection with regulated domestic and international football matches involving English and Welsh clubs and the national teams.

For the first time, arrests during the 2022 to 2023 season included those for the possession of class A drugs, which became a Schedule 1 offence in November 2022 (200), and arrests made in England and Wales relating to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (101). Therefore data are not directly comparable with previous seasons.

Prior to the 2019 to 2020 season, there was a downward trend in football-related arrests; a decrease of more than half (-55%) from 3,089 in the 2010 to 2011 season, to 1,381 in the 2018 to 2019 season (before COVID-19). In the 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023 seasons, the number of arrests increased to levels similar to the 2013 to 2014 season.

Figure 2: Schedule 1 football-related arrests, from 2013 to 2014 football season to 2022 to 2023 football season

Source: Home Office, Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales: 2022 to 2023 season data tables, Table 5

Notes:

  1. Figures include arrests at all regulated international and domestic football matches involving English and Welsh clubs and the national teams, playing in the UK and overseas.

There were an additional 98 football-related arrests under Schedule 1 of the Football Spectators Act 1989 by British Transport Police (BTP), and 476 ‘other’ (non-Schedule 1) arrests in the 2022 to 2023 football season.

Over half (55%; 1,234) of the 2,264 arrests in the 2022 to 2023 football season took place inside the football ground (64% in the 2021 to 2022 football season), and the majority of arrests were of supporters of clubs in the top 5 divisions in English football (2,037; 90%).

There were no arrests reported in relation to women’s regulated football matches.

During the 2022 to 2023 football season, there were 123 football-related arrests at or in connection with England and Wales national team matches (5% of total arrests), including 101 arrests made in England and Wales relating to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. This is the first time that football-related arrests made in England and Wales relating to an overseas tournament have been included in this release, due to improved recording and reporting practices.

There were 38 arrests connected to England and Wales national team matches in the 2021 to 2022 season and 92 in the 2020 to 2021 season (of which 90 were related to Euro 2020 matches).

There were 89 football-related arrests at or in connection with European competition matches in the 2022 to 2023 season (matches where an English or Welsh team (not including the national teams) played in a European tournament). All related to matches played in England.

There were no arrests connected to the women’s World Cup held in July and August 2023 in Australia and New Zealand.

3.3 Most common arrest offence type was public disorder

The most common football-related arrest offence types were public disorder (34%), violent disorder (21%), alcohol offences (9%) and the possession of class A drugs (9%; this became a Schedule 1 offence in November 2022), as shown in figure 3.

Over the past decade, the proportion of arrests by offence type has remained stable, with the exception of alcohol offences which have decreased over time (from 25% in the 2013 to 2014 season to 9% in the 2022 to 2023 season) and offences in the 2020 to 2021 season which were impacted by COVID-19. Arrests for pitch incursion decreased by 53% (-166) compared with the 2021 to 2022 season.

Figure 3: Football-related arrests by offence type, from 2013 to 2014 football season to 2022 to 2023 football season

Source: Home Office, Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales: 2022 to 2023 season data tables, Table 5

Notes:

  1. Figures include arrests at all regulated international and domestic football matches involving English and Welsh clubs and the national teams, playing in the UK and overseas.
  2. Alcohol offences include driving under the influence of drink or drugs.
  3. Other includes throwing missiles, racist and indecent chanting, ticket touting, possession of an offensive weapon, possession of pyrotechnics, breaking the terms of a banning order and criminal damage and or offences against the property.

3.4 West Ham United had highest number of arrests for second consecutive year

For clubs in the top 5 divisions, around half (47%; 962) of the 2,037 football-related arrests were at home games. The club with the highest number of supporters arrested in the 2022 to 2023 season for the second consecutive year was West Ham United, with 89 arrests, as shown in Figure 4. Leeds United had the largest increase in arrests compared with the 2021 to 2022 season (+25).

Figure 4: Clubs with the highest number of supporters arrested, 2022 to 2023 football season

Source: Home Office, Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales: 2022 to 2023 season data tables, Table 4

3.5 Highest recorded attendance at regulated football matches

Over the 2022 to 2023 season, around 45 million people attended men’s domestic and international matches, the highest number recorded since the data collection began (in the 2014 to 2015 season). With 2,264 arrests, the arrest rate for the 2022 to 2023 season was 5.0 arrests per 100,000 attendees, similar to the previous season (5.2).

Arrests relating to international competitions had the highest arrest rate of 13.5 arrests per 100,000 attendees, driven by the 101 arrests made in connection with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. European club competitions had the lowest arrest rate of 2.5 arrests per 100,000 attendees.

Figure 5: Football-related arrest rate per 100,000 attendees by competition, 2022 to 2023 football season

Source: Home Office, Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales: 2022 to 2023 season data tables, Table 10; Attendance figures from the Utilita Football Yearbook 2023 to 2024

Notes:

  1. Figures include arrests at or relating to all men’s regulated international and domestic football matches involving English and Welsh clubs and the national teams, playing in the UK and overseas.
  2. Does not include ‘other’ competitions which include ‘Community Shield’, ‘Under-21 internationals’ and ‘domestic pre-season friendlies’, or women’s regulated football matches.
  3. Does not include competitions with less than 30 arrests.
  4. The arrest rate for international matches includes 101 people arrested in England and Wales relating to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

In the 2022 to 2023 football season, there were 98 football-related arrests under Schedule 1 of the Football Spectators Act 1989 reported by the BTP in connection with regulated international and domestic football matches involving English and Welsh clubs and the national teams. This compares with 140 in the 2021 to 2022 football season.

The most common BTP Schedule 1 arrest offence type was public disorder (37%; 36 arrests). Public disorder was the most common offence type in all previous seasons since the data collection began, excluding the 2020 to 2021 season which was impacted by COVID-19. For more information on football-related arrests by the BTP see the user guide.

3.7 Increase in ‘other arrests’ (non-Schedule 1) compared with 2021 to 2022 season

A person may be arrested at a football match for an offence not covered by Schedule 1, which can include possession of class B drugs (such as cannabis) and theft. These arrests are described as ‘other arrests’.

In the 2022 to 2023 football season, there were 476 ‘other arrests’ in connection with regulated international and domestic football matches involving English and Welsh clubs and the national teams (including those by the BTP). This compares with 334 in the 2021 to 2022 football season, a 43% increase. The way in which ‘other arrests’ are recorded means that it is not possible for these to be published by offence type. For more information see the user guide.

From 17 November 2022, the possession of class A drugs when entering, attempting to enter or inside a stadium, was added to Schedule 1 of the Football Spectators Act 1989. These were previously recorded as ‘other arrests’.

4. Reported incidents at football matches

Reported incidents include football-related anti-social behaviour, violence and disorder involving supporters of men’s English and Welsh clubs and the national teams, played in England and Wales. Reports of incidents are submitted to UKFPU by police dedicated football officers (DFOs). These reports may be informed by information from partner organisations such as the FA and Kick It Out.

Figures in this section relate to the number of football matches where an incident was reported, not the number of individual incidents. Multiple incidents may be reported at each match.

4.1 Incidents reported at half of all regulated football matches

In the 2022 to 2023 football season, information was gathered on 3,024 regulated football matches involving men’s English and Welsh clubs and the national teams played in England and Wales. Of these, incidents were reported at 1,516 matches (50%) a similar proportion to the 2021 to 2022 season (53%). There were no incidents reported at women’s regulated football matches.

4.2 62% of matches with incidents were categorised as low severity

A post-match incident report assessment is made after each regulated football match and allocates a low, medium, or high severity category to each match depending on the severity of incidents that happened before, during and after the match.

In the 2022 to 2023 football season, there were 938 matches with low severity incidents (62%), 437 matches with medium severity incidents (29%) and 141 matches with high severity incidents (9%).

4.3 Most common incidents involved pyrotechnics and throwing missiles

Figures on reported incidents are available by type of incident. More than one incident type may be reported at each match, so the total number of the incident types is greater than the number of matches where an incident was reported.

The most commonly reported types of incident involved pyrotechnics (at 620 matches) and throwing missiles (at 573 matches).

There were also 450 matches where public order or anti-social behaviour incidents involving youth supporters were recorded (these involve supporters aged 25 or under in planned or spontaneous incidents at or in connection with a football event), and 381 matches involving spontaneous incidents (for example, supporters engaging in disorder which is not organised or pre-planned).

Hate crime incidents were reported in relation to 370 matches (12% of matches). Of these, 248 involved hate crime incidents related to race and 119 involved hate crime incidents related to sexual orientation.

Notable increases compared with the 2021 to 2022 season include matches with incidents involving supporter drug use (+104), other incidents in the stadium (+38), inappropriate chanting (+31), throwing missiles (+12), attacks on stadium staff (+9) and youth supporters (+6).

For more information on reported incidents at football matches, see the Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales: 2022 to 2023 season data tables, Tables 11 to 13.

5. Experimental statistics on online hate crime incidents connected to football

Statistics on online hate crime incidents connected to football are included within this publication for the second time and are designated as experimental statistics to acknowledge that they are new and that further development of the data collection and quality assurance is needed.

Online hate crime connected to football is defined as ‘any electronic communication that appears to breach the law on protected characteristics that is directed towards a player, club, football authority, match official or football personality, where there is a clear link to football, or where the text used is more generic and aimed at a more general group within this criteria’. Incidents that are included have met specific criteria and passed a series of ‘threshold tests’ relating to the content of the post, the time and place it occurred and the evidence available. See the CPS guidance on hate crime offences involving electronic communications and the user guide for more information.

From 1 July 2022, football-related online hate crime offences were added to Schedule 1 of the Football Spectators Act 1989. Therefore, any football-related arrests and football banning orders made in relation to incidents of online hate crime from this date are covered by this release.

Incidents of online abuse and hate crime connected to football can be referred to UKFPU by a relevant body such as Kick It Out, the FA, UEFA, or a police force. From 1 January 2022, incidents that were referred to UKFPU, investigated by a team of police dedicated football officers and passed ‘threshold tests’ were recorded as online hate crimes. Many incidents that are reviewed by UKFPU do not meet the threshold to be recorded as an online hate crime.

In the 2022 to 2023 season there were 234 recorded incidents of online hate crime connected to football. Of these, 133 (57%) were linked to the domestic season, 85 (36%) to the 2022 men’s World Cup, 14 (6%) to the 2023 women’s World Cup and 2 (1%) to England internationals.

In the 2021 to 2022 season there were 103 recorded incidents of online hate crime connected to football. Of these, 22 were recorded prior to 1 January 2022 and were not necessarily considered under the same criteria or quality assured to the same level as incidents from 1 January 2022 onwards. Figures for the 2021 to 2022 season have been revised upwards in this release (from 74 to 103) due to late reporting from the 2021 to 2022 season and from the women’s Euros.

The increase in the number of online hate crime incidents in the 2022 to 2023 season is likely due to improved and more standardised methods of recording rather than an increase in the number of online hate crime incidents over this time.

For more information see the ‘online hate crime connected to football’ section of the user guide.

‘Football-related arrests and banning order statistics’ is an official statistics output produced to the highest professional standards and free from political interference. It has been produced by statisticians working in the Home Office Analysis and Insight Directorate in accordance with the Home Office’s ‘Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for official statistics’ which covers policies on revisions and other matters. The Home Office Chief Statistician and Head of Profession for statistics reports to the National Statistician with respect to all professional statistical matters, oversees all Home Office official statistics products with respect to the Code of Practice and is responsible for their timing, content and methodology.

6. Forthcoming and previous statistical releases

Frequency of release: Annual

Publications are pre-announced on the Home Office statistics release calendar.

Previous statistical releases are available on the football-related arrests and banning orders statistics collection page.

7. Feedback and enquiries

Home Office responsible statistician: Jenny Bradley

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems, or have any feedback, relating to accessibility, or general questions regarding this publication, please email us at PolicingStatistics@homeoffice.gov.uk.

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