The 80s and 90s saw a wave of hooliganism and violence in English football stadiums, the likes of which we have not seen since. Firms such as the Zulu Army in Birmingham, and West Bromwich Albion’s Section 5 rose to infamy in the 1970s, and terrorised terraces for decades before a police crackdown in the 90s stamped out a large portion of this violence. Football related violent crime has been mostly forgotten about since, with individual incidents of course dotted around here and there, but nothing near the scale experienced in the late 20th century.
However, club firms and violence throughout the pyramid is threatening to rear its ugly head once again. In the 2018/19 football season, the last full season with fans before the Covid-19 lockdowns, there were 1,381 football-related arrests made at regulated matches in England and Wales. In 2021/22, the first full season after spectators returned to the stands, that number rose to 2,198, a huge increase of just over 59%. This has sparked discussions and theories about the catalyst for such a spike, with many pointing to improved detection and policing methods leading to more arrests, but others suggesting that clubs and authorities are failing to properly police large scale events.
In the West Midlands, there are six major clubs competing in the top four divisions: Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion, Coventry City and Walsall, all of which have large stadia that require a significant police and stewarding presence to maintain health and safety standards, but all coming with their own unique challenges surrounding fan violence and disorder. The cross section of clubs in this region, with teams from the Premier League down to League 2, gives us extensive examples to investigate as we attempt to explain why this spike is happening, and how clubs and authorities can combat it.
According to Home Office statistics published following the 2024/25 season, lockdown marked a notable shift in arrest numbers. No season before 2020/21 saw more than 2000 arrests, whereas every season since has surpassed that threshold, showing an undisputable trend. It should be noted that possession of class A drugs became a schedule 1 offence in November of 2022, meaning that statistics for such an offence are not accounted for in the numbers for years prior to this date. Seasons before the pandemic could have slightly underplayed stats, due to some substance possession arrests being left out.
In just three seasons of class A possession numbers being counted, it has gone from being accountable for just 9% of football related arrests to 19% in 2024/25, surpassing alcohol related offences in the last two years. Alcohol related arrests have seen a steady decline in the past decade, and many fans have expressed concerns that drugs and substances are filling that hole for many match-going supporters.
In the West Midlands specifically, Birmingham City topped the arrest charts in 2022 with 34 arrests made in the first full season with fans. Aston Villa came up second with 27 and West Brom and Wolves were level with 20 football related arrests each, making it 101 arrests in total between the four biggest clubs in the area. This has been an ongoing issue in the wider Birmingham area, with a couple of high-profile games being tainted by violence and disorder in the following seasons.
Most notably, a match between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers in January of 2024 saw a huge spike in arrests, as did Birmingham City vs Shrewsbury Town just last year in March 2025. At The Hawthorns, five people were arrested following outbreaks of fighting between rival fans in the 83rd minute of the FA Cup clash when Wolves fans were identified in the home sections of the stadium. This resulted in a 15-minute delay as fans spilled onto the field of play, and players rushed over to their families who were seated near the largest pocket of disturbance in the Halfords Lane stand. It spoiled what should have been a day of jubilation for Wolves fans, as they beat their rivals on their own turf for the first time since 1996.
Abi, a West Brom fan and member of the club’s Her Game Too group attended the game that day and said she was concerned for people’s safety following the scenes in the stadium.
“I was really looking forward to my first Black Country Derby; however, I felt unsafe at a football match which was not something I’d experienced at the Hawthorns.
“From our seats in the East Stand, I could see it was a large group of men causing the scenes in two corners of the ground.
“It made me worried for the safety of myself as a young female fan, and other women and children who sit near me at the games.”
Speaking on The Liquidator Podcast directly after the game on X Spaces, other Albion supporters expressed their dismay at the events that paused the game and called for greater measures to be put in place to curb the upwards trend in violence at football matches.
According to West Midlands Police, five people were arrested following the disorder, with another held before kick-off for possession of an offensive weapon. Whilst it is unclear what set of fans those individuals aligned themselves with, the sheer scale of the aggression between two sets of fans created an extremely hostile atmosphere after the game, and what should have been just a fierce rivalry being reignited became a day of shame for those associated with both clubs, who were plastered across national media thanks to the actions of a few individuals. Images of an individual with a bloodied head being walked across the pitch stole the headlines and became a brutal illustration of a dark day in the Midlands football world.
At St Andrews in March, Birmingham City hosted Shrewsbury Town in a game that isn’t traditionally viewed as a derby, but still between two clubs that are somewhat local to each other. At half-time and after the match, pockets of fighting broke out on the concourse and 19 individuals were later charged with offences, including both a 16 and 17-year-old boy. The age of these individuals is a real concern, as it shows the influence that scores of violent spectators have on the young people around them, in an environment that so many families rely on for an escape from reality.
Clubs lower down the pyramid have noted the rise in violence too. Operations Director at Walsall FC, Murray McKee, gave some insight into the matchday operations of a club, and their approach to security in face of the rise of violence in recent years. He said:
“The club is aware of wider discussions across the game regarding fan behaviour post-Covid, and measures such as enhanced stewarding, clear communication with supporters, and proactive engagement with safety partners form part of our ongoing approach to minimising disorder around the stadium on matchdays.”
“The club works closely with local authorities, the police, and stadium safety teams to ensure matchdays are run safely and responsibly. Our approach to matchday operations is regularly reviewed and updated in line with national guidance and best practice, including lessons learned from the period following the pandemic.”
Averaging around 6,300 fans each game at the Bescot Stadium, Walsall have a much smaller number of fans to police than the 25,000+ that attend other stadiums in the area, but the acknowledgement of the post-Covid rise from individuals within operations teams at local clubs is encouraging for the future. 15 Saddlers fans were arrested in 2024/25, the same number as West Brom, which is a proportional concern, since Walsall have nearly five times less fans at home games than the Baggies. It is also an increase from previous seasons, and the number is worryingly similar to Premier League sides Brentford and Ipswich, who had 16 and 17 arrests respectively.
So, what are clubs actively doing about this issue? McKee mentioned three things that Walsall are putting in place, those being enhanced stewarding, clear communication with supporters, and proactive engagement with safety partners. Each of these plans have their benefits, but how realistic are they for clubs in the perpetually volatile economy that is English football?
Enhanced Stewarding:
In a December 2023 Parliament report, made in the wake of fan trouble at the Euro 2020 final at Wembley, Professor Pearson, Law Professor at the University of Manchester, stated that stewards are being held increasingly responsible for safety of fans inside of football stadiums and that individuals should have a minimum level of qualifications to work on matchdays. However, according to Professor Pearson, “they are not being paid enough to set aside the time to gain whatever qualifications are the minimum required.” This suggests that funding is the main reason as to why stewarding numbers and quality can feel inadequate, with the same report finding that the pandemic, supply chain challenges, low pay and the threat of violence are all contributing to low numbers in the stewarding and matchday operations workforce. Should clubs want to combat this issue, locating funding and distributing it appropriately to ensure that stewards are properly qualified is the real challenge. Other sports are able to ensure this happens, with the report citing horse racing and cricket, so with the riches available to elite football clubs, why are we still seeing inadequate conditions for stewards who are responsible for maintaining order inside stadia?
The report concluded its stewarding section by stating:
“Stewards should not be seen merely as volunteers or fans who get to see the game for free. They are crucial to the safety of all sporting events and their responsibilities have grown over the years. The resources available to all major UK sports should allow for the better treatment of stewards, including an appropriate wage for the demanding and often stressful job it can be, both as a reward for the work they do and to encourage recruitment and retention of experience stewards. We welcome that some sports, such as cricket and horseracing appear to be recognising this need.”
Another thing that should be mentioned is the constant development of CCTV and technology to aid police in their investigations. Most football stadia are under continuous renovation, often including security measures, meaning that reports of disorder are easier for authorities to follow up and prosecute. This could explain the rise in arrest numbers, suggesting that it isn’t more crimes being committed, but more crimes being spotted and charged. This however isn’t as readily available to smaller clubs on tighter budgets, and so the rise in arrests in League 2 and below could be an exception to this line of thought. It is also no secret that police services across the country are strapped for cash too, so collaboration between relevant parties is key.
Clear communication with supporters:
The lack of clarity surrounding policing and stewarding in football grounds is another issue that needs to be addressed. Without relatively extensive research into stewarding practices or policing methods, it is difficult to find any real information regarding matchday safety operations. The recognition from McKee and Walsall on this is a positive start, but there is much more that needs to be done to streamline communications between stadium safety teams and match-going fans. Club directors and safeguarding team’s contact details are mostly available on club websites, but aside from a minority, these pathways are slow and tedious. We reached out to operations teams at other clubs for comment on this issue but did not receive a timely response.
When looking at the reporting of incidents in stadiums, West Brom and other local clubs have a number of webpages available, and Aston Villa introduced a new text-based service in 2021, supported by West Midlands Police (WMP), allowing supporters to report instances of racism, homophobia, anti-social behaviour and similar incidents from inside the ground without having to go directly to a steward. With support from the Premier League, division-wide bans can be implemented for those who break stadium rules, providing fitting punishment for any individuals who threaten the safety of others in the stadium. Wolves have a similar text line in place, and other initiatives could be implemented across more clubs with the help of WMP, allowing other fans in the area to have the same support networks as those at Villa Park and Molineux.
Proactive engagement with safety partners:
The primary coordinator and partner for all clubs in the West Midlands is the region’s police service, West Midlands Police. They coordinate matchday policing, as well as traffic control measures and other logistical responsibilities around high-profile matches. Working with club directors and safety officers, the police presence adds an element of comfort to the environment at grounds and helps to combat violence and anti-social behaviour on the concourse or outside the venue.
West Brom also work with Traffix, an external company specialising in traffic control measures around large scale sporting events and concerts. In an interview on Traffix’s official website, WBA Matchday Operations Manager Gary Wallis discussed how external contractors can streamline logistical issues for club directors when preparing for matchdays:
“It could take us hours to speak to the right person, let alone get something done. Because of his relationships with Birmingham and other local authorities, Vinnie (Derek Vinning, Traffix Operations Director) gets things done, it’s fabulous for us to be able to tap into his valuable network.”
This is encouraging to hear, and the willingness of managing directors of these clubs to cooperate bodes well for the future, but there is of course work to be done.
One factor yet to be mentioned is the ‘away day’ culture, and the prevalence of young men and boys in Stone Island heading to football games with the intention of threatening and provoking opposition fans. High-profile social media accounts glorify violent and aggressive behaviour, and it often gets confused with passionate supporters, making it harder to discern the true intentions of certain groups of supporters.
A number of season ticket holders at The Hawthorns have suggested that large groups of young men attending games has been an increasing issue, most notably at important home games like the Black Country derby and 2024s play-off semi-final against Southampton. Whilst supporters being vocal and passionate isn’t an inherently bad thing, the use of foul language in some chanting and the sheer number in which some groups attend in can be intimidating, particularly in areas of the stadium which are not often loud compared to other sections.
Having visited The Hawthorns myself regularly across the past decade, I have certainly noted a shift in the atmosphere on the concourses and in the stands, which all came to a head in the derby day brawl in 2024. The feeling within the ground, which had been so friendly and welcoming before the pandemic, has become increasingly prickly and unsettled in recent seasons, and whilst fan’s discontent with performances on the pitch could provide some explanation, the national trend is indisputable, and the numbers support the intangibles. West Brom’s poor performances and league finishes can explain some frustration and anger being present at matches, however this is not the case for lots of other teams in the region who have also experienced a rise in violence. Coventry are on the verge of a Premier League return after decades in the EFL, Aston Villa have made a return to Europe under Unai Emery and Birmingham have received huge investment from Tom Wagner and Tom Brady’s consortium. There is little reason for those fanbases to be agitated and unsettled with things on the pitch in their current state.
There is very clearly a deep-rooted issue in English football, and executives at Midlands clubs are aware, but with so much work still to be done, it is certainly fair to suggest that they aren’t doing enough yet to curb the culture of aggression in their stadiums. Increased stewarding presences are one thing, but the FA and individual clubs must find a way of combatting the culture in football, as the era of 90s hooliganism that seemed so far behind us is silently re-emerging, and threatens to plague our stands and concourses with violence once again.
