Wolves and Albion fans arrested for racist chanting last season

Anti-racism charity Kick It Out said it is everyone's responsibility to make a stand against discrimination and hate, after arrests for such offences more than doubled across the top five divisions last season.

Home Office figures show two Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters were arrested in the 2019-20 season for racist and indecent chanting. In the previous five seasons, three fans were arrested for the same offence.

One West Bromwich Albion supporter was arrested in the 2019-20 season for racist and indecent chanting. ​In the previous five seasons, one other fan was also arrested for the same offence.

No Walsall supporters were arrested for racist and indecent chanting in 2019-20, nor in any of the previous five seasons.

Arrests for racist and indecent chanting across the top five leagues more than doubled last season, compared to the campaign before – despite severe restrictions on fan attendance.

There were 35 such arrests in 2019-20 compared to 14 in 2018-19, even though 546 matches were either cancelled or played behind closed doors last season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Manchester City was the club with the highest number of this type of arrest – six – with Cardiff City recording five.

Kick It Out’s annual report, published in September, showed a 42 per cent increase in reports of discrimination last season compared to 2018-19 – up from 313 to 446. The organisation's chair Sanjay Bhandari said: “We need to mobilise everyone to stand against the rise in hate.

“Kick It Out will play its part with campaigning, education and talent programmes that diversify the face of football. But this is everyone’s responsibility. We all need to do more and we all need to take a stand against discrimination."

The UK’s football police chief, deputy chief constable Mark Roberts, said the hate crime figures are "incredibly concerning" and this type of "vile" behaviour should be eradicated from the game.

He added: “It is important the clubs and the leagues continue to ensure the police are made aware of all incidents so local forces can work with them to tackle the incidents as they occur.

“We are also working to help tackle the causes of hate crime, with a mixture of education, helping those involved to understand the harm it causes, and diversionary activities for young supporters."

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Hate crime has no place in football or anywhere else and we must all come together to confront it.

“The increase shown in these statistics is partly down to better recording and awareness, but we have no complacency in stamping out this evil from the game.

“We are bringing forward legislation to force social media companies to remove racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic abuse and we are working closer than ever before with the football authorities to bring perpetrators to justice.”

West Midlands Police has been approached for comment.