Number of West Ham supporters arrested revealed by Home Office
Before a West Ham Premier League match at London Stadium. Picture: Paul Harding/PA. - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
There were 25 arrests of West Ham fans last season, new figures from the Home Office have revealed.
That's down from the five-year high in the 2016/17 season, which saw 65 arrests - a drop of around two thirds.
Public disorder was the most common type of infraction by club supporters - nine arrests were made for the offence. This was followed by seven for throwing missiles and then four for pitch incursion. The club was 17th for arrests out of all the clubs in the top five divisions.
West Ham had 54 football banning orders (FBO) in force as of August 1. The club has the fourth highest number of any team. Newcastle easily has the most with 71.
Someone with an FBO cannot attend any regulated football match in the UK, and can be sent to prison for breaching one.
While a spokesman for West Ham declined to comment on the numbers, he said it had a "zero tolerance" policy towards bad behaviour.
Police bosses say football-related disorder remains at "concerning levels" nationally, while the FA has called on fans to report any form of discrimination they witness.
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In England and Wales there were 1,381 football-related arrests in 2018/19, down from 1,542 during the previous season.
The figures cover international and domestic matches involving English and Welsh clubs in the top five flights, or the national teams. It also includes supporters of other national or European teams arrested at a UK match with an English or Welsh team.
Deputy chief constable Mark Roberts is the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for football policing. He said: "Football disorder remains at concerning levels - worryingly, this is becoming the new normality.
"Higher levels of disorder are being seen in the lower leagues, and this could be attributed to the fact there is often a reduced police presence.
"With the absence of police officers to witness and respond, we are reliant on supporters and other agencies to report matters to us."
Incidents were reported at 1,007 domestic club and international fixtures involving English and Welsh teams in 2018/19 - around a third of all those played.
Reports of racist hate crimes are up, with at least one incident at 152 matches, compared to 94 during the previous season.
