Manchester United top fan 'racial' arrest league

Club 'committed to fight against all discrimination'

New data released under a Freedom of Information request has revealed that Manchester United had more fans arrested for offences involving racism than any other soccer club in England between 2014 and 2018.

The information reveals 27 people identified as United fans were arrested on those grounds in that period. Championship teams Leeds United and Millwall came joint second, with 15, Leicester City had 14 arrests and Chelsea, 13.

The Home Office says the data's accuracy cannot be guaranteed, as the arresting officer has to fill in certain information in the arrest details where racism is recorded as a factor.

Over the seasons in question, the highest number of arrests, 114, took place in the 2015-16 season, dropping to 75 for the last, 2017-18.

"This statistic applies to 0.0004 percent of our match-going fanbase," said a spokesperson for Manchester United, whose Old Trafford stadium is the biggest club ground in England, with a capacity of around 75,000.

"It does not reflect the views or behavior of our fans as a whole in any way. We continue with monitoring and liaison with authorities to try and identify and eradicate any forms of discriminatory behavior, and we take appropriate action if it occurs.

"There is no place for racism within our game, or in society as a whole, and we are committed to working to make football free from all forms of discrimination, whether through our own "All Red All Equal" campaign or in support of Kick It Out and other organizations."

In November 2018 anti-discrimination group Kick It Out said it had received 520 reports of abuse for the previous season, an 11 percent increase on the year before, with 53 percent havingan alleged racial link.

Kick It Out's reaction to the arrest figures was that they "show racism is a nationwide problem shared by clubs of all different sizes in all parts of the country.

"We support them in challenging racism and other forms of discrimination, and will continue our program of education in the game to help reduce this problem."

Millwall told Sky News that education was a cornerstone of their efforts in the fight against discrimination.

"The club's strategy is that anyone found guilty of discrimination of any sort at The Den is not just issued with an immediate ban, but also offered the opportunity to attend Millwall For All's 'Fan Diversity Scheme', which aims to educate rather than simply just exclude," said a spokesperson.

"Education is key when it comes to dealing with people with unpalatable views and football clubs should be at the forefront of efforts to do so."

A statement from Leeds said the club had "made great steps toward making improvements - however clearly this is a work in progress and we are committed with the help of The Football Association, English Football League, Kick It Out and police to do anything we can to eradicate this vile issue from the game".