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A new league ranking of football-related arrests has been published, alongside calls from police for greater financial contributions from clubs towards the cost of policing match day disturbances.

The Home Office announced on Thursday that incidents were recorded at 1,644 matches across England and Wales during the 2025–26 season — the highest figure since the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) began compiling such data in 2017–18.

West Ham United continued to have the largest number of active banning orders, which rose from 112 to 121. Manchester City recorded the highest number of arrests at 102, followed by Chelsea with 76, Manchester United with 67, Arsenal with 66, and Millwall with 63.

Chief Constable Mark Roberts of Cheshire Police stated that the current funding structure — under which an estimated £70 million burden falls on taxpayers — “doesn’t work” and “simply cannot continue.”

“We will continue our collaboration with partners including the Crown Prosecution Service, the Premier League, the EFL, and the FA to ensure football remains a safe and enjoyable experience for the vast majority of supporters,” Roberts said.

“However, a crucial part of this effort involves reviewing the funding provided by football clubs to police forces, as the existing system is unsustainable.

“Football-related disorder doesn’t end when supporters leave the stadiums, yet under the current arrangement, multi-billion-pound football clubs contribute nothing towards policing outside their grounds. This means taxpayers are left to cover the £70 million bill every season, which cannot go on.”

A Premier League spokesperson responded: “The Premier League and its clubs work closely with police forces both nationally and locally to maintain safe and welcoming environments for all supporters.

“We are investing over £90 million each season in stewarding, security, community crime prevention initiatives, and a series of technology-driven pilot projects in partnership with various police forces and the UKFPU.

“This cooperative approach will help police forces manage resources more effectively around football fixtures, as the number of arrests has dropped significantly over the past decade.”

The English Football League (EFL) has also been approached for comment.

According to UKFPU data, during the 2023–24 season, football clubs contributed £14.87 million towards policing costs, while taxpayers covered the remaining £56.82 million.

The Home Office figures further revealed that as of 1 June 2026, there were 2,460 active football banning orders — the highest total since the conclusion of the 2011–12 season.

Additionally, there was a 73 per cent increase in online hate and abuse cases linked to football during the 2025–26 season, with 405 incidents compared to 234 the previous year.

Football-related arrests and police interventions totalled 1,963, a 2 per cent decline from the previous season. Of these, 45 arrests were for unauthorised entry — a new Schedule 1 offence under the Football Spectators Act 1989, effective from 22 March 2026.

This marks the second consecutive season in which arrests have fallen. However, there was a 59 per cent rise in football-related arrests between the final pre-pandemic season (2018–19) and the first full post-pandemic season (2021–22).