Sport

Football-related arrests rise sharply among Wrexham fans

23 Jul 2026 3 minute read

Wrexham fans in the stands hold up a tin foil cup ahead of the Emirates FA Cup fourth round match at SToK Cae Ras, Wrexham against Ipswich. Photo Martin Rickett/PA Wire.

Nation.Cymru staff/agencies

Football-related arrests and other police actions involving Wrexham supporters almost quadrupled last season, new Home Office figures show.

There were 27 involving fans of the newly promoted club during the 2025-26 season, up from seven the previous year.

It was the biggest rise among Welsh clubs, while the corresponding figure for Cardiff City fell from 21 to 13 and Swansea City’s total dipped from 10 to nine.

Newport County recorded three arrests or other police actions, having recorded none the previous season, while one was linked to Caernarfon Town supporters.

The increase at Wrexham follows the club’s promotion to the Championship after a third successive promotion under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Longer-term figures show Wrexham’s total has fluctuated considerably, rising from four in 2019-20 to 16 in 2021-22 and 17 the following season before falling to 14, seven and then climbing to 27.

Cardiff City recorded the highest figure among Welsh clubs in four of the six seasons unaffected by Covid restrictions, peaking at 33 in 2023-24.

Seven season trendAcross England and Wales, there were 1,963 football-related arrests and other police actions connected with regulated matches during the season, down 2% from 2,003 in 2024-25.

Of those, 1,694 were arrests and 269 involved other action, including fixed-penalty notices, reports for summons and voluntary attendance.

Just over half took place inside stadiums, while away supporters accounted for 53% of arrests and other police actions involving fans of clubs in the top six tiers of English football.

Public disorder was the most common offence, accounting for 38% of the total, followed by violent disorder at 19% and possession of Class A drugs at 17%.

Manchester City supporters recorded the highest number of arrests and other police actions at 102, followed by Chelsea with 76 and Manchester United with 67.

The number of football banning orders in force increased by 1% to 2,460 – the highest total since the end of the 2011-12 season.

There were also 405 recorded cases of online hate and abuse connected with football, a 73% rise from 234 the previous season.

Incidents were reported at 1,644 matches, up 4%, although the Home Office said much of the increase was driven by the introduction of new categories covering sexism and misogyny and violence against women and girls.

Policing costs

The UK’s football policing lead has called for clubs to contribute more towards the cost of policing supporters outside stadiums.

Chief Constable Mark Roberts of Cheshire Police said the current funding system left taxpayers covering around £70m each season.

He said: “Football-related crime doesn’t simply stop when fans exit the stadium, but under the current system multi-billion-pound football clubs do not have to pay a penny towards the policing outside their grounds.

“This means that taxpayers are left footing the £70m bill each season, which simply cannot continue.”

Football clubs covered £14.87m of policing costs during the 2023-24 season, while taxpayers paid the remaining £56.82m, according to the UK Football Policing Unit.

Support our Nation today

For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.