West Ham, Man Utd fans top unruly tables as cocaine use is blamed for violence
West Ham had the most fan arrests in the Premier League last season.
The latest Home Office figures reported 2,198 arrests at games last term, the most since the 2013-14 campaign.
Manchester City and Manchester United are in the top five
That included 441 arrests for pitch invasions, up 127 per cent, with 561 people charged for throwing missiles and 729 for possession of pyrotechnics.
Of those, 95 were West Ham fans, with many alleged to have committed public disorder offences.
The next highest offenders were Manchester City with 76 arrests, followed by rivals Manchester United with 72.
Leicester City and Chelsea round of the top five with 59 and 58 fan arrests respectively.
The rise in incide
nts was a major factor in the Premier League’s unanimous agreement that all clubs would impose minimum 12-month bans for fan misbehaviour issues.
Police recorded 1,609 matches in which at least one arrest was made, meaning action was required at more than half of games played - 602 games more than in 2018-19, the last season of full crowds before the pandemic.
And courts issued 516 new banning orders, making the total across England and Wales now 1,308.
Cheshire Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the country’s head of Football Policing, said: “The release of these statistics underlines that the rise in disorder we saw at the mid-season point of 2021/22 has continued.
“It cannot just be put down to fans returning to stadiums after lockdown.
“Disorder is a problem that has not gone away, and throughout the whole of last season we saw an increase in crime at football matches across the country - from the Premier League right down to the National League.”
Ch Con Roberts added that pitch invaders and fans carrying pyrotechnics would face prosecution as well as the club bans.
He said: “The statistics released show a worrying rise in these crimes, which are both extremely dangerous for players, staff and fellow fans alike.
“We know that drug use, along with alcohol, is one the key factors which leads to disorderly behaviour, and we are pleased that the government is adding Class A drugs offences to the banning order legislation.
“This will provide police with another option to tackle criminal and anti-social behaviour by those who are under the influence of drugs.
“Anyone who commits a criminal offence either outside or inside a football ground can expect to face the consequences of their actions.”
Meanwhile, study has revealed that cocaine epidemic has fuelled the worst increase in football violence for eight years.
The latest Home Office figures reported 2,198 arrests at games last season, the most since the 2013-14 season.
For Roberts, the country’s top football cop, pinpointed drink and drugs as the root cause.
He said: “Alcohol has always been a factor but the more we look the more we find cocaine use at the heart of things.
“We have done a number of operations where we have swabbed toilets in grounds and after the game 100 per cent of them had cocaine traces.
“That is definitely contributing to the bad behaviour, with a lot more young people involved.
“If this persists, we are talking about a problem that will last another 20 years.”
