Football clubs urged to ease police cost burden on taxpayers
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- Chief Constable Mark Roberts urged football clubs to contribute to policing costs, stating the current system leaves taxpayers with a £70m annual bill despite clubs generating billions in revenue.
- Home Office data revealed 1,644 football-related incidents were reported in England and Wales last season — the highest since 2017-18 — including 159 classified as 'high severity', up from 106 the prior year.
- Geoff Pearson noted that while reported incidents rose, arrests fell to 1,963 last season from 2,198 in 2021-22, suggesting improved police recording and practices rather than worsening disorder.
- UK Football Policing Unit reported 405 online hate crimes linked to football last season, nearly double the 234 from the previous year, with 387 tied to men’s football and 18 to women’s.
- West Ham had the most football banning orders for the third straight season (121), while Manchester City had the most supporters arrested or subject to police action (102) last season.
- Manchester United saw the largest drop in fan arrests — from 121 in 2024-25 to 67 last season — though they still ranked third overall in total arrests.
- Football-related arrests for violent disorder fell by 3% last season, which Geoff Pearson cited as evidence of effective policing, including the adoption of safe standing and consistent post-pandemic practices.
Why it matters: Taxpayers are bearing £70m in annual policing costs for football matches while incidents rise and clubs profit, creating pressure for clubs to pay their share. The disconnect between rising incident reports and falling arrests suggests data improvements may be inflating perception of risk, affecting public policy and club accountability.
