A study has placed Manchester United supporters at the top of the rankings—not for their team’s performance, but for incidents of intoxication at matches.
The research, which examined arrest records at stadiums across the nation, found that fans of the Red Devils lead in arrests related to drug and alcohol influence.
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The substances involved in these arrests included cocaine, cannabis, and amphetamines. Despite the vast number of attendees, there have been 39 arrests of Manchester United fans for such offences over the last five seasons.
In comparison, Everton fans accounted for 11 arrests, while supporters from clubs like Brighton, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Luton, Fulham, Sheffield United, Bournemouth, Wolves, and Brentford had 10 or fewer arrests.
One Manchester United supporter expressed his astonishment that the figure was not higher, given the circumstances.
He said: “Given our form of late I’d expect far more of us to get nicked for drowning our sorrows or looking for a bit of escapism from what we’re seeing on the pitch.”
A spokesman for JeffBet.com said: “We used data from the Home Office to find the number of substance abuse-related arrests per team.
“Manchester United is first on the list, with a total of 39 arrests, with Newcastle United in second place, with 31 arrests.”
He added: “It’s highly dismaying to see the number of fans arrested for substance-abuse offences.
“Football is a sport that is loved by people of all ages, which is why it’s incredibly worrying to think that young children will observe this kind of unacceptable behaviour at matches.
“In the future, hopefully, we will be able to see a decrease in the amount of substance abuse connected to the sport, allowing for people of all ages to feel safe at football matches.”
The study, utilizing data from the Home Office and Police on substance-related offences at football stadiums, ranked the top 10 as follows:
Manchester United – 39
Newcastle United – 31
Chelsea – 23
Arsenal – 22
West Ham United – 21
Manchester City – 21
Nottingham Forest – 19
Burnley – 18
Tottenham Hotspur – 13
Aston Villa – 12
