Football-related arrests first rise in three years

Nearly 2,000 football-related arrests were made in the 2015-16 season, the first increase for three years.

A quarter were in connection with Championship matches according to the Home Office, external.

In the Premier League, Newcastle United fans had the most active football banning orders - 124 - prior to the club's relegation.

Wolverhampton Wanderers had 52 bans in force, the most in the Championship.

The figures revealed there were 1,895 football-related arrests in England and Wales in 2015-16, a 1% rise on the year before.

The most common causes for arrest were public disorder and alcohol offences.

However, alcohol arrests have more than halved in the five seasons covered by home office data, down from 800 in 2011-12 to 373 in 2015-16.

Public disorder and alcohol accounted for the most arrests.

The figures showed more arrests in the Championship for alcohol offences, violent disorder, possession of pyrotechnics, criminal damage and offensive weapons than in the Premier League.

Championship side Birmingham City's fans were arrested most with 74 of the league's total of 672. Nearly half, 36, were for public disorder.

Manchester City fans made up the largest number of arrests with 66 of the Premier League's 707. Of those, 26 were for public disorder and 15 for violent disorder.

Out of 56 arrests of Premier League club fans for pitch incursions, 15 of them were Sunderland supporters.

The club also accounted for four of the league's eight arrests for racist and indecent chanting.

There were two arrests of Championship side supporters for the same offence, one a Bolton Wanderers fan and the other Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Liverpool saw the highest number of arrests for possession of pyrotechnics, nine of the total 39 in the Premier League. In the Championship there were 49 arrests for the offence.

The overall number of football banning orders stood at 2,085 as of 1 August 2016, down 4% on the year before due in part to the expiry of those imposed in previous seasons.

Wolverhampton Wanderers fans were handed the most new bans in the top two leagues with 21 imposed in 2015-16.

The club's facilities and safety manager Steve Sutton said the club's Molineux stadium was a "safe and enjoyable place to watch football with over 500,000 fans passing through the stadium's turnstiles every season".

He said: "Banning orders can be put in place for many different reasons, not just relating to actual incidents at home or away stadia.

"Wolves work very closely with West Midlands Police in taking a pro-active approach to pre-empting any issues, as highlighted by the banning order figures.

He said during the 2015-16 season, there were four recorded home supporter arrests at Molineux itself and the season "had to go on record as one of the most pleasing in this respect in recent years."

The official figures, including 24 hours before and after matches, show that overall there were 31 arrests of Wolves fans. Eight of them were connected with home matches and 23 away.

Sunderland fans had the highest number of new bans in the Premier League in 2015-16 with 14 imposed.

Rival Newcastle added to its tally with 12, the second highest.

Paul Weir, head of safety at Sunderland AFC, said: "We take a zero tolerance approach to any football related crime and disorder. It is too easy to use these arrest and banning order figures to suggest that our supporters are worse than any other set of supporters as not all police forces, clubs and indeed magistrates adopt the same positive approach we do."

There were 617 active orders in the Premier League.

The figures were as of the start of the season and include clubs that have been relegated with those who won promotion included in the lower league statistics.

Football banning orders can last between three and 10 years and prevent an individual attending matches at home and abroad.

Breaching an order is punishable by up to six months in prison or a fine of £5,000, or both.

Fans can have more than one order imposed.

In the Championship, Burnley had proportionately the highest number of bans based on the average number of fans at home matches.

Its tally of 48 works out as 29 for every 10,000 home attendances. However, it only added two to its overall number from the previous season.

In notes accompanying the statistics the Home Office said: "There has been a steady decline in the total number of football banning orders in the last four seasons, falling by almost a quarter (-646) from a high of 2,731 on 9 November 2012."

Speaking on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire, Amanda Jacks, case worker for the Football Supporters' Federation, said magistrates needed to consider all the circumstances of an offence before imposing an order.

She said: "You can get a football banning order for an offence 24 hours either side of a football match.

"Whilst there are undoubtedly people who do have banning orders for violent disorder and affray, many more have them for non-violent offences because magistrates do not apply the tests they should be applying."

Supt Sarah Pitt from Northumbria Police said: "Banning orders are part of a whole suite of action we can take around football. We take each individual case on its merit to put in front of the court."

Policing minister Brandon Lewis said the the figures showed "tough" laws to ban troublemakers were working.

Newcastle United have been approached for comment.