Sheffield United fans second highest in football arrests league, Government figures show

Last year, Sheffield United fans were arrested more than any club in English football bar one, new Government figures show.
Bramall Lane, Sheffield. Mike Egerton/PA Wire.Bramall Lane, Sheffield. Mike Egerton/PA Wire.
Bramall Lane, Sheffield. Mike Egerton/PA Wire.

Last season, 62 Blades supporters were arrested at games, 40 per cent of them at home games at Bramall Lane.

The figures place the club in second in the arrests league table behind Birmingham who had 95 supporters arrested in the 2017-18 season.

Bramall Lane, Sheffield. Mike Egerton/PA Wire.Bramall Lane, Sheffield. Mike Egerton/PA Wire.
Bramall Lane, Sheffield. Mike Egerton/PA Wire.
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The rest of the top five is made up by Sunderland, Portsmouth and Aston Villa with 60, 59 and 48 arrests respectively.

Last year, the Blades also issued 53 football banning orders, moving the club from 13th in the league table in 2016-17 to third in 2017-18.

Across the country, there were 1,542 football-related arrests, a decrease on the previous year.

The most common offences were public disorder (36 per cent), violent disorder (20 per cent) and pitch incursion (12 per cent).

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A spokesperson for Sheffield United said: 'The Club will not tolerate misbehaviour. The number of banning orders handed out highlights the fact that Sheffield United are proactive in dealing with disorder and anti-social behaviour involving troublemakers associated with the Club.

'In the past couple of seasons we have communicated a number of strong messages to highlight the fact that we are working closely with police forces across the UK to identify a minority who spoil matches for the majority of supporters.

'In addition, in the summer of this year we installed a new £200,000 state-of-the-art CCTV system, which covers every seat within the stadium, further indicating the lengths that the Club is prepared to go to make Bramall Lane a safe place to watch football.'