Man Utd fans lead premier league in arrests

Manchester United supporters were arrested far more often than fans of Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle, and Tottenham during the 2024-2025 season.

Manchester United had the most football-related fan arrests across England's top six leagues with 121, according to Home Office data released on 17/7. Manchester City followed with 94 arrests, while West Ham, which led the league in arrests for the past three seasons, dropped to third with 77.

20-year-old Man Utd fan, Alfie Holt, was arrested, fined, and banned from stadiums for three years for slapping Jack Grealish during the Manchester derby in April. Photo: Sun

Arsenal saw the biggest decrease in fan arrests, dropping from 85 to 42. Conversely, Aston Villa had the most significant increase, rising from 26 to 71 arrests.

The most common offenses leading to arrests were public disorder (32%), followed by violent offenses (22%) and possession of Class A drugs (19%). Manchester United also topped the list for drug-related arrests with 27, followed by West Ham (26), Newcastle (24), Liverpool (18), Manchester City (15), Everton (14), Leeds (13), Sheffield Wednesday (12), Southampton (12), and Tottenham (12).

Total arrests across the top six leagues reached 1,803, a 12% decrease compared to the 2023-2024 season. However, drug-related arrests rose from 344 to 378.

The number of matches with reported incidents also increased from 1,341 to 1,583. Violent offenses rose from 341 to 420, followed by missile throwing with 363 incidents and pyrotechnic offenses with 319.

Of the violent offenses reported, 287 were racially motivated, 140 related to sexual orientation, 20 to religion, 19 to disability, and three to gender identity.

Last season, Man Utd finished 15th in the Premier League, their worst performance since being relegated in the 1973-1974 season. They reached the Europa League final but lost 0-1 to Tottenham. Tottenham will join the top six Premier League teams – Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea, and Newcastle – in representing England in the Champions League group stage next season.

Football-related arrests for the 20 Premier League clubs in the 2024-2025 season:

1. Man Utd - 121

2. Man City - 94

3. West Ham - 77

4. Chelsea - 76

5. Aston Villa - 71

6. Everton - 56

7. Liverpool - 45

8. Arsenal - 42

9. Newcastle United - 41

10. Tottenham Hotspur - 41

11. Leicester City - 30