Police call on English football clubs to ease security burden on taxpayers
Home Office reveals police incidents for 2025-26 season
Four arrests for every 100,000 people attending games
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.
