Source: Daily_Mail
Manchester United top of the crime league...but football related arrests fall
The number of football related arrests in England and Wales fell last season with Home Office figures showing an average of just 1.18 per game.[LNB]Red-handed: Police detain a fan outside Old Trafford[LNB]Police made a total of 3,752 arrests at domestic and international games during the 2008-09 campaign, a fall of 2 per cent on the previous season, while no arrests were made at 67 per cent of matches.[LNB]Encouraging figures also showed that arrests in relation to violent incidents were down 5 per cent. In all, 354 fans were arrested for violence from a total attendance figure of 37million.[LNB]Manchester United had the most fans arrested 185 in total although an average attendance figure of over 75,000 at Old Trafford should be taken into account.[LNB]Relegated Newcastle were second with 144 arrests and third was Everton with 139. Fulham, by contrast, had the least fans arrested, with just 13.[LNB]In total, 956 football banning orders were issued during the 2008-09 season. Leeds fans were the worst offenders with a figure of 162. They were followed by Cardiff (124) and Millwall (110).[LNB]Fans' improved behaviour abroad also resulted in more encouraging figures. Of more than 105,000 fans who travelled to 49 games in European club competitions last season, only 30 were arrested.[LNB]Arrests for racist chanting rose by 13 from 23 last season while arrests for pitch invasions also increased from 203 to 245. But Home Office minister David Hanson claimed the overall figures revealed measures taken to improve behaviour at football matches were working.[LNB]'Hooligans once blighted our national game but we now set an example for the rest of the world in how we police football matches,' he said.[LNB] Coming soon to your club? United throw the January transfer window open with £9m bid for star Benfica wingerThe great Premier League mystery: Does anyone REALLY want to win the title?Second-best Manchester City sack the boss, rock-bottom Liverpool persist with Rafa while Spurs top the Premier League improvement table[LNB] [LNB]
