Naughtiest Football Fans

Which UK football teams are home to the most badly behaved fans?

Football fans have garnered an unfavourable reputation over the years, with many branded as hooligans. As the saying goes, ‘actions speak louder than words’. With over 2,200 football-related arrests in the UK throughout the 2022/23 season, it is clear that things need to change.

The surge in CCTV operator training and fans reporting incidents during football matches catch out sinful supporters in various ways. But which teams have the naughtiest fans? Here’s what we found.

Manchester United fans score an overall 9.97/10, crowning them as the naughtiest supporters.

We have made a weighted table using data such as football-related arrests and reported incidents across football matches. This can determine which UK football teams are home to the naughtiest fans.

1. Manchester United – 9.97 /10

Manchester United supporters kick off our list as the top three naughtiest football fans in the UK. See who have garnered an overall score of 9.97 /10. Among the contributing factors to this team’s entry are 69 banning orders and 32 reported incidents during the 2022/23 season.

2. Manchester City, West Ham United – 9.67 /10

Joint next on our list of the UK’s naughtiest football fans is Manchester City and West Ham United. With the highest number of football-related arrests on our list, totalling 89. It appears that West Ham United fans have been getting a little bit too passionate during games. Unfortunately, this has contributed to their overall naughty score of 9.67 /10.

After winning the treble earlier this year, Manchester City are familiar with winning, but their top three entry on this table is much less desirable. Some factors contributing to Manchester City’s joint second-place entry on our list include 66 football-related arrests and 46 banning orders across the 2022/23 season.

Manchester United have the most banning orders of any UK football team, tallying up over 65 during the 2022/23 season

Authorities issue football banning orders for various reasons, from racialist chanting to carrying an offensive weapon, to help reduce hooliganism in football. The list below reveals the football teams with the most banning orders issued to fans during the 2022/23 season.

1. Manchester United – 69 Banning Orders

Manchester United takes the title as the UK football team with the most banning orders. Known as the Red Devils, the fans of this team have always been passionate. Unfortunately, this has got some supporters into trouble. Evidenced by the 69 banning orders issued to Manchester United fans during the 2022/23 season.

2. Millwall – 66 Banning Orders

Founded over 130 years ago, Millwall has a rich football history, and their fans have been with them every step of the way. Like the lion on this team’s logo, it appears that Millwall’s supporters can be just as feisty. As they have earned themselves 66 banning orders throughout the 2022/23 season.

3. Leicester City – 56 Banning Orders

Leicester City is the third and final team to feature in our top three. After ending 2022/23 in the relegation zone, seeing this team on our list may not be surprising. In a frustrating season for the Foxes, 46 supporters were issued with banning orders during this time – the third-highest total of any UK football team.

West Ham United fans were arrested more than any other club, with 89 football-related arrests.

The 2022/23 season saw a nine-year high in football-related arrests, but which teams are most responsible? Here’s what we found.

1. West Ham United – 89 Arrests

After winning the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023, it appears that West Ham United had a successful season. It’s not all happiness in this team, though, as 89 of their supporters were arrested during football matches. Of these arrests, around half were due to public disorder offences, including violence or shouting abusive language.

2. Manchester United – 83 Arrests

After being revealed as having the naughtiest football fans, it may be no surprise to see Manchester United feature in another of our rankings. Even though this team’s fans aren’t responsible for the most football-related arrests, more than 80 Manchester United fans were caught behaving unlawfully at football matches during the 2022/23 season. 

3. Leeds United – 69 Arrests

Completing our list of the UK football teams with the highest number of football-related arrests is Leeds United. Of the 69 football-related arrests, there were numerous cases of violent disorder and some alcohol offences, among others.

No other UK football team have more incidents reported than Manchester United, totalling 32 in the 2022/23 season

Although anti-social behaviour is frowned upon, it is unfortunately all too common in football. The following list reveals the UK teams with the highest reported incidents at football matches.

1. Manchester United – 32 Reported Incidents

Making another appearance at the top of one of our Naughtiest Football Fans’ rankings is Manchester United, this time for the number of reported incidents. Clocking up over 30 reported incidents at football matches during the 2022/23 season, this team has topped another football-related table, but it’s not the kind of table that fans would like to be leading.

2. Manchester City – 26 Reported Incidents

With so many trophies won in the last few years, Manchester City fans have high standards for their team. Having said this, regarding the number of reported incidents at football games, the Cityzens have stooped low, tallying up 26 incidents of anti-social behaviour across the 2022/23 season.

3. Blackpool, Hull City – 25 Reported Incidents

With 25 reports of anti-social behaviour from Blackpool and Hull City fans, these two teams complete our top three. While Hull City finished the 2022/23 season in a higher position than Blackpool, nothing separates the two teams regarding the number of reported incidents.

Public disorder makes up over 35% of all football-related arrests during the 2022/23 season.

Last season, according to the report, there were over 2,000 arrests across England and Wales concerning football fans, but what are the most common reasons for these detentions? Here’s what we found.

1. Public Disorder – 35.25% of total arrests

From vandalism to threatening violence, public disorder offences cover a range of incidents. During the 2022/23 football season, authorities arrested over 700 people for public disorder linked to football, marking the highest frequency for this type of arrest.

2. Violent Disorder – 19.78% of total arrests

When emotions run high at football matches, fans often lose control and behave antisocially. On 403 occasions last season, football fans resorted to violence, and the penalties for these violent disorders can range from a hefty fine to a few years in prison.

3. Entering / inside stadiums in possession of class A drugs – 9.43% of total arrests

The third most common reason for fan arrests during the 2022/23 football season, making up 9.43% of all arrests, is the possession of class-A drugs in stadiums. As well as being potentially harmful to users, these illegal drugs can cause supporters to become antisocial and ruin the football experience for other fans.

Methodology

We used GOV.UK data to find the following data for each football team in England and Wales as of the 2022/23 season:

●       Number of football banning orders

●       Number of football-related arrests

●       The number of reported incidents at each club’s home stadium

We couldn’t get all the data for some clubs, so we removed them.

We used the factors (banning orders, football-related arrests, and reported incidents). We normalised each element out of 10 before taking an average of those scores to get our overall ‘naughty score’ for each club.

Finally, dividing the number of arrests in each category by the number of football-related arrests to find the most common reasons for arrests in the 2022/23 season.