Manchester City were top of the league when it came to bad behaviour last year – with 102 arrests at football matches during the 2025/26 campaign.
That’s more football-related arrests than fans of any other club in England and Wales, according to figures from the Home Office. It put them well clear of second-placed Chelsea, whose fans were arrested 76 times.
Manchester United were third in the list with 67 arrests, followed by Arsenal with 66 and Millwall with 63. Manchester City supporters were also top of the charts for some of the most serious football-related offences. They were arrested 16 times for violent disorder, more than any other club.
They were also arrested 45 times for public disorder, which was also the most of any other club. Portsmouth fans were top when it came to drugs, however.
Pompey supporters were arrested 22 times last season for entering stadiums with Class A drugs. Manchester United fans were arrested 19 times, Chelsea 18 times and Manchester City 16 times.
The overall number of fans being arrested for football-related crimes did fall last season, however. There were a total of 1,963 football-related arrests and other police actions at regulated games in England and Wales last season. That’s down 4% from the 2,037 arrests in 2024/25 and by 24% from the 2,584 arrests in 2023/24.
The likelihood of fans witnessing arrests at a football match remains low. The total number of arrests last season works out as 4.0 for every 100,000 people attending a game. That’s down from 4.2 per 100,000 the previous season and 5.5 per 100,000 the year before.
A Premier League spokesperson said: “The Premier League and its clubs work closely with police forces at a national and local level to ensure safe and welcoming environments for all fans.
“We are investing more than £90million a season in stewarding, security, crime prevention in communities and a series of technology-led pilots in partnership with a number of police forces and the UKFPU.”
The game that saw the most trouble last season was Chelsea vs Leeds United in the FA Cup at Wembley The two sides have a bitter rivalry, with the two clubs famously meeting in the brutal 1970 FA Cup final.
Last season’s Wembley showdown saw a total of 39 arrests being made by police. That included 22 arrests for public order, 17 of which were of Leeds fans, one was a Chelsea fan, and four, surprisingly, were Manchester City fans whose club wasn’t even playing that day. Five arrests were for unauthorised entry, and six for violent disorder (three Chelsea, two Leeds and one neutral).
While arrests may be down, the number of hate crimes recorded at games has increased. There were a total of 491 recorded across the country’s games last season, up from 421 in 2024/25 and 341 in 2023/24. The majority were regarding race (356), with another 144 about sexuality, 28 for religion, 14 about disability and three for gender identity.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts QPM, the NPCC Lead for Football Policing: “Almost 48 million people attended men’s domestic and international matches during the 2025/26 season, and the vast majority of those were law-abiding citizens who wanted to support their team.
“Unfortunately, as the figures released today demonstrate, there continues to be a small number of fans who commit offences, and we will continue to work closely with the CPS and our other partners to ensure that they are held accountable.”
He added: “Moving forward, we will continue to work with our partners including the CPS, Premier League, EFL and FA to collectively make football a safe environment for the overwhelming majority of supporters who just want to enjoy the game.
“However, a key part of this is looking at the funding provided to police forces by football clubs as the current model simply doesn’t work.
“Football-related crime doesn’t simply stop when fans exit the stadium, but under the current system multi-billion-pound football clubs do not have to pay a penny towards the policing outside their grounds. This means that taxpayers are left footing the £70m bill each season, which simply cannot continue.”
Most football-related arrests in 2025/26
1. Manchester City: 102
2. Chelsea: 76
3. Manchester United: 67
4. Arsenal: 66
5. Millwall: 63
6. Everton: 62
7. Leeds United: 59
8. Portsmouth: 55
=9. Liverpool: 52
=9. Tottenham Hotspur: 52
Most arrests for violent disorder
1. Manchester City: 16
=2. Birmingham City: 15
=2. Middlesbrough: 15
4. Everton: 13
5. Newcastle United: 11
=6. Arsenal: 10
=6. Tottenham Hotspur: 10
8. Millwall: 9
=9. Chelsea: 8
=9. Liverpool: 8
=9. Hull City: 8
=9. Sheffield Wednesday: 8
Most arrests for public disorder
1. Manchester City: 45
2. Leeds United: 35
3. Chelsea: 31
4. Everton: 30
5. Arsenal: 29
=6. Millwall: 28
=6. Manchester United: 28
8. Tottenham Hotspur: 27
=9. West Ham United: 20
=9. Wrexham: 20
Most arrests for Class-A drugs
1. Portsmouth: 22
2. Manchester United: 19
3. Chelsea: 18
4. Manchester City: 16
5. Liverpool: 15
6. Aston Villa: 15
=7. Sunderland: 13
=7. Millwall: 13
9. West Ham United: 10
10. Birmingham City: 9
Most arrests for alcohol offences
=1. Leeds United: 8
=1. Newcastle United: 8
=3. Chelsea: 6
=3. Manchester City: 6
=3. Manchester United: 6
=3. Queens Park Rangers: 6
=7. Portsmouth: 5
=7. Coventry City: 5
=7. Arsenal: 5
=10. Crystal Palace: 4
=10. Bradford City: 4
=10. Nottingham Forest: 4
=10. Birmingham City: 4
=10. Sunderland: 4