Football Spectatorship: Are the Home Office Statistics a Reliable Indicator for Measuring Football-Related Violence & Disorder?
| Published date | 01 December 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00220183231215995 |
| Author | Ashley Jane Lowerson |
| Date | 01 December 2023 |
Football Spectatorship: Are the
Home Office Statistics a Reliable
Indicator for Measuring Football-
Related Violence & Disorder?
Ashley Jane Lowerson
Northumbria University specialising in policing, public order and football spectatorship,
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Abstract
Despite the best efforts of successive governments and the police, football-related violence
and disorder still exist. The extent of the problem is not clear due to the unreliability of
the data used to monitor this behaviour. The behaviourof football spectators has received sig-
nificant attention in areas of psychology, criminology, and law, yet there is no single documen-
ted piece of research that measures the reliability of the evidence used to monitor spectator
behaviour. This means that data of uncertain provenance is being used to evaluate methods of
controlling football spectators and to inform government policy and policing strategies. This
article will highlight issues with the reliability of the dataset and caution that such information
should not be used without better contextualisationas the basis for policing, prosecution, and
legislative strategies. The context of this article does not easily fit into the existing classification
of primary or secondary and qualitative or quantitative research. As such, this article provides
a novel approach to understanding the Home Office statistics by obtaining the data used to
monitor football-related arrests through the use of Freedom of Information requests. In
doing so, the article is the first to assess the methodology underpinning the government’s
data, making a significant and original contribution to the existing literature and policing prac-
tices in this area. As a result of this analysis, the article recommends that a standardised system
for logging the data is needed to provide more reliable evidence of the scale of football vio-
lence and disorder in England and Wales. More comprehensive andreliable data can then
counter prevailing media narratives regarding the behaviourof football supporters and provide
a solid evidence base for police and governmental action.
Keywords
Football, violence, disorder, Football Banning Orders, Home Office statistics
Corresponding author:
Ashley Jane Lowerson, Northumbria University specialising in policing, public order and football spectatorship, Newcastle upon
Tyne, England.
Email: Ashley.lowerson@northumbria.ac.uk
Article
The Journal of Criminal Law
2023, Vol. 87(5-6) 386–406
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/00220183231215995
journals.sagepub.com/home/clj
Introduction
In January 2023, the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) released mid-season data on foot-
ball disorder in England and Wales. The report highlights that there were 999 football-related arrests
made between 1 July and 31 December 2022, a 10% increase in the same period in 2021, and 343
new Football Banning Orders (FBOs) issued, a 230% increase in the same period in 2021. Chief
Constable Mark Roberts, the UKFPU lead states that the figures released in January 2023 ‘show that
we are continuing to see a worrying level of disorder at football matches across the country at all
levels.’
1
These figures do correlate with the trend highlighted in the Home Office statistical data on
football-related arrests and FBOs for the 2021–22 football season and subsequently, the release of the
2022–23 data in October 2023. The 2021–22 data illustrates there were 2198 football-related arrests, a
rise of 59% from the 2018–19 season, and the highest number since the 2013–14 season. The 2022–
23 data shows that there were 2264 arrests, an increase of 3% from the 2021–22 data. This data is the
first release where football-related arrests occurred in England and Wales and are directly related to a
major tournament taking place overseas (101 arrests), and the inclusion of arrests for the possession of
class A drugs, which became a football-related offence in November 2022 (200 arrests).
2
What is not
highlighted by the police or media is that British Transport Police (BTP) arrests are down 30% from
the 2021–22 season.
3
Further observation of the 2022–23 Home Office statistics demonstrates that there were a total of 1624
FBOs in force, an increase of 24% compared with 28 July 2022 (1308). On the face of it, this appears to
be a considerable increase. Yet, observation of the data over a 10-year period shows that the number of
FBOs served to individuals has decreased overall; a 44% decrease for Premier League clubs, a 28%
decrease for Championship clubs, a 30% decrease for League One clubs and a 28% decrease for
League Two clubs. The Home Office data suggests that there has been a 0.18% increase in FBOs
since 2019–20, but the number of FBOs currently in place is on average 26% lower than it was from
2011 to 2019; this does not fit within the narrative that there is a ‘huge rise in fan disorder at football
matches in England and Wales’, as per Chief Constable Mark Roberts. It is evident that in its current
state, the Home Office data lacks variables or characteristics that are essential to understanding the
extent of the prevalence of football-related violence and disorder in England and Wales.
4
The remit of the article is not to discuss or understand the phenomenon of football violence and dis-
order. Instead, the focal point is highlighting the reliability of the Home Office dataset and the influence it
has as the basis for policing, prosecution, and legislative strategies. The statistics are produced annually
with information provided by the UKFPU; this includes information from all police constabularies in
England and Wales. The monitoring of FBOs and football-related arrests by these statistics is used to
inform the public, inform government policy and operational decisions by the police, demonstrate the
scale of football disorder, and aid the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) activities in creating
the reduction of football violence and disorder. The data and the current rhetoric surrounding football
disorder should provide the same conclusion; a worrying level of football-related disorder. Yet, there
are notable differences, and this is particularly evident when observing the Home Office data.
1.BBC Sport, ‘Worrying Level of Disorder’in Football as Arrests at Games Rise’(BBC, 12 January 2023) Available at: https://
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64252723#A%20UKFPU%20report%2C%20released%20on,Chief%20Constable%20Mark%20
Roberts%20said (accessed 1 March 2023).
2.Available via Home Office, ‘Football-related Arrests and Banning Order Statistics, England and Wales: Season 2022 to 2023
Data Table’(gov.uk 2023) Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/football-related-arrests-and-banning-orders-
2022-to-2023-season/football-related-arrests-and-banning-orders-england-and-wales-2022-to-2023-season#new-to-this-release
(accessed 7 October 2023). To note, these figures are police-only arrests and do not include British Transport Police arrests.
3. Ibid.
4.Belfast Telegraph, ‘Huge Rise in Fan Disorder at Football Matches in England and Wales Last Season’(Belfast Telegraph,22
September 2022) Available at: https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/huge-rise-in-fan-disorder-at-football-matches-
in-england-and-wales-last-season/42008948.html (accessed 25 September 2022).
Lowerson 387
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