Police call on English football clubs to ease security burden on taxpayers

The number of football matches in England and Wales featuring incidents reported to police reached record levels last season, even as the number of arrests continued to return to pre-Covid figures.

According to an annual report by the Home Office, released on Thursday, there was a 4% increase in the number of matches with reports of “football-related anti-social behaviour, violence and disorder” during the 2025-26 season. Reports were made at 1,644 games, up from 1,580 the previous campaign.

Meanwhile, the Home Office calculated there were four arrests (or other actions such as voluntary police interviews) for every 100,000 people attending a men’s football match in 2025-26, with the FA Cup the most likely competition for arrests to be made. Across the women’s game, however, that number falls to four in total.

The total number of arrests last season stood at 1,695, down from 1,744 in 2024-25 and a peak of 2,198 during the pandemic-affected campaign of 2021-22. Contained within these figures was an increase in the number of arrests and other actions related to public disorder, the most common type of offence.

This year’s figures in part reflect a change in the data being collected. Last season, for example, the crime of “unauthorised entry” was added to the Football Spectators Act 1989. There were 45 arrests made under the new law in 2025-26, meaning total arrests and actions would otherwise have declined by 4%.

New categories of “sexism and misogyny” and “violence against women and girls” were also added to the list of behaviours that can be reported by supporters, either to police or to bodies such as the FA or Kick It Out. The Home Office said 22 matches were reported for instances of sexist behaviour and 37 for violence against women. “The overall increase was therefore largely driven by the introduction of these new categories”, a Home Office statement said.

Of the incidents reported, the most common type was “hate crime”, which was reported at 491 matches. The second most common was reports of missiles being thrown (359 games) and then the use of pyrotechnics (316 matches).

In other data released by the Home Office, the number of football banning orders – a sanction that prevents someone convicted of a football-related crime from attending matches – issued was at its highest level since 2012. Currently there are 2,460 FBOs in place. This is up by 568 on the previous season, but a smaller rise than the 685 recorded in 2024-25.

Chief constable Mark Roberts, the lead for football policing in England and Wales, said the latest Home Office report showed the need to revisit the funding of football policing, with 46% of arrests and actions taking place outside of stadiums. “Football-related crime doesn’t simply stop when fans exit the stadium, but under the current system multibillion-pound football clubs do not have to pay a penny towards the policing outside their grounds,” Roberts said. “This means that taxpayers are left footing the £70m bill each season, which simply cannot continue.”