Football banning orders issued rise by 230 per cent and online hate allegations up 53 per cent, say police
The number of football banning orders issued by UK courts has risen by 230 per cent, while online hate allegations within the sport are up 53 per cent, say police; the number of criminal incidents at UK football matches has dropped but arrests have still increased
Thursday 12 January 2023 15:15, UK
The first six months of the current football season have seen a 53 per cent increase in the number of online hate crime allegations within football in England and Wales.
The police figures - seen first by Sky Sports News - also show a 230 per cent increase in the number of football banning orders issued by UK courts, compared to the same period in the 2021/22 season.
While there were more arrests for criminal activity around football between July 1 and December 31, 2022, the total number of incidents at games was down 19 per cent compared with the same period last season.
But incidents involving pyrotechnics, missiles, drug use and attacks on stadium staff all showed significant rises.
Senior reporter Rob Dorsett has been looking at the statistics, which cover July 1 to December 31, in more detail.
Increase in online hate allegations
There were 29 incidents of online hate crime reported to police in the six-month period, compared to 19 cases in 2021.
However, police believe that the increased number of allegations is partly due to the high-profile cases where fans have been prosecuted for online racism, which has encouraged more people to come forward with complaints.
Chief constable Mark Roberts, head of the UK Football Policing Unit, told Sky Sports: "We are getting more reports.
"[Police] have been very successful in getting a better response from the online companies, which was a major block for us.
"We've had a number of successful prosecutions, some very high-profile. Hopefully that encourages more victims to come forward, with the confidence that we will treat it seriously [and that] there is an outcome for it."
Kick It Out has told Sky Sports News that they suspect the greater efforts of the online media companies to assist police with their investigations is largely due to the impending introduction of the Online Safety Bill, expected before April - although there have been years of political delays already.
Kick It Out also says there is a sensitive issue around trying to persuade more black footballers to come forward to assist the police with prosecutions, when there has traditionally been a higher level of distrust within black communities towards the police.
Man due in court over racially abusing Toney
A north Tyneside man is due to appear in court after Brentford striker Ivan Toney was racially abused on social media.
Northumbria Police, supported by the Metropolitan Police, launched a full investigation in October 2022, after Toney received an abusive message on Instagram.
The message, which officers are treating as a hate crime, was traced to a suspect living in the North Shields area.
He was subsequently located and interviewed under caution in connection with the offence.
Now, the man - aged 24 - has been served with a postal requisition to appear before magistrates in Newcastle later this month.
Here, he will be formally charged with sending a message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.
Superintendent Scott Cowie, hate crime lead for Northumbria Police, said: "There is absolutely no place for discrimination of any kind in society - whether that's within our communities or online.
"Hate crime in any form is totally unacceptable, and as a Force, we are committed to taking appropriate action against anybody found to be spreading this type of abuse.
"We would like to thank the victim for his support and cooperation throughout this case, as well as our colleagues in the Metropolitan Police who assisted our enquiries.
"Anyone who receives online abuse or believes they have been a victim of a hate crime is asked to always report it, so it can be fully investigated.
"We'd also ask members of the public who see, read or hear any offensive, racist or homophobic language at fixtures or online to get in touch with us."
The suspect is due to appear at Newcastle Magistrates' Court on January 25.
Huge increase in the number of banning orders
The number of banning orders issued by UK courts more than doubled in the six months to Christmas, compared with the same period in 2021.
The police have long advocated the use of banning orders as a preventative measure to take the ring leaders out of the 'firing line', which they argue acts as a big deterrent to more widespread violence at matches.
"Clearly there are more incidents," explained chief constable Roberts. "More people are putting themselves in the frame for us to seek a banning order against them."
However he also says police forces are putting more resources into collecting the evidence needed to obtain a banning order, while there is also a greater willingness within the court system to issue more of them.
"We know it is effective," he continued. "On occasions, we see people plead guilty to the criminal offence and then contest the banning order, because it [not being able to attend football matches] does hurt them.
"We also know there are very low levels of re-offending on banning orders."
Fewer incidents, more arrests
This one needs explaining.
Hypothetically, if there was an incident at a football match where 30 supporters were involved in a violent confrontation, there might be 30 arrests, but that would still only be recorded as a single incident in these police statistics.
The total number of arrests for the first six months of this season was 999 - a 10 per cent increase. But at the same time, there was a 19 per cent drop in the number of criminal incidents at football matches.
Nevertheless, chief constable Roberts says there is a worrying trend, whereby he feels there is more trouble at matches generally. Last season and this season show the two worst years on record for the number of criminal incidents at football matches in England and Wales.
The record high for disorder last season coincided with the removal of lockdown restrictions following the coronavirus pandemic. Police hoped it was a one-off - a statistical blip - that would be corrected in the following years.
But these latest statistics suggest the incidents of disorder have remained high - certainly higher than pre-Covid levels.
"It's good to see the police are tackling it and people know they are likely to be prosecuted for disorder," said chief constable Roberts.
"We would, of course, rather see a decrease and be able to assess that it was a post-Covid blip, because our mantra is to make it safe for all supporters.
"We need to build on it with the leagues and clubs, have better information sharing, and target those people who are a real problem."
