Football arrests 'highest in years' & disorder on the rise - police

Arrests at football matches across the top five English leagues are at their highest levels in years, with fan disorder «getting worse», according to the UK's football policing lead.

The latest data on the first half of this season — which has seen the return of fans to capacity stadiums — follows Baroness Casey's recent report into the Euro 2020 final violence, which found «ticketless, drunken and drugged-up thugs» could have caused death as they stormed Wembley.

There have been more than 800 football-related arrests in the first six months of the season, alongside more than 750 reported incidents of disorder.

Chief constable Mark Roberts, the head of the UK's Football Policing Unit, said cases of anti-social behaviour among younger fans is a particular area of concern.

Roberts has previously voiced his concern on newly-introduced safe standing 'rail seats' as well as a pilot scheme to allow fans to drinkexternal-link within sight of the pitch.

He said increased levels of disorder is expected after a major tournament — but the current level of activity is «concerning».

Last month's Baroness Casey report into the mass disorder at the Euro 2020 final described «drunken and drugged up thugs» responsible for a «a day of national shame» at Wembley on 11 July, as England lost to Italy.

Within that report, Lady Casey called out the «culture» around disorder at football matches as «the biggest challenge» in tackling behaviour, recommending a Football Association campaign to force «a sea-change in attitudes towards supporter behaviours».

One fan at that game, 'Tom', told BBC Radio 5 live: «In our row there was a group of 10 mates, none of them had tickets, all of them were snorting cocaine. It felt very very dangerous.»

Testimony