Manchester City had more supporters arrested or subject to police action last season than any other club in England and Wales — 102 in total, according to UK Government statistics compiled from 43 territorial police forces and British Transport Police.
Chelsea came second with 76. Manchester United third with 67. Arsenal, who won the league, registered 66. Championship side Millwall, who have long carried a reputation that far outweighs their actual division, sit fifth with 63.
United's numbers swung wildly
The most striking year-on-year movement belongs to Manchester United. Their arrest figures dropped by 60 — a 47% decrease — after surging by 44% the season before. That kind of volatility doesn't just reflect fan behaviour; it reflects policing priorities, fixture lists, and which competitions a club is active in late into a season. United's relatively early European exit and a quieter domestic run-in probably played a role. The drop looks dramatic on paper. Context matters.
At the other end, Portsmouth's numbers jumped from 16 to 55 — the sharpest increase of any club. Newly promoted sides arriving in higher-profile fixtures, with more travelling support and greater police attention, tend to generate these spikes. It's a pattern, not an anomaly.
Across the board, 1,963 football-related arrests and other police actions were recorded nationwide — down 4% on the previous season. A modest decline, and one complicated by the fact that mid-season legislation changes added a new offence to the books: unauthorised stadium entry, introduced under Schedule 1 of the Football Spectators Act 1989, which alone generated 45 arrests.
West Ham hold the banning order record
On football banning orders, West Ham lead with 121 supporters currently banned — up from 112 the previous season. Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool each sit in the 80s.
For anyone pricing up crowd disorder risk or stadium atmosphere dynamics — particularly relevant when assessing handicap lines for matches with high-tension fixtures — West Ham's trajectory is worth tracking. That banning order number keeps climbing.
City top the arrests table. West Ham top the banning orders. Neither club's boardroom will be thrilled to see those rankings published.
