Football Hooligans: South Yorkshire's most violent fanbase revealed in Home Office data

The most violent football fanbase in South Yorkshire has been revealed through analysis of Home Office data going back to the 2014/15 season.

The Star has conducted a deep-dive into crime data recording the number of arrests made on identified supporters of football clubs across England's top five divisions, to discover which fanbase has seen the most football-related arrests - including for violent disorder.

We focussed on Sheffield's two highest-ranked clubs, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday, as well as Barnsley FC, Rotherham United and Doncaster Rovers.

The most violent fanbase

According to the data, the fanbase with the highest total arrests for "violent disorder" is Sheffield United. Blades fans at football matches have been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder 59 times since the 2014/15 season.

It is a significant 21 more arrests than second place, Barnsley (38 arrests). Sheffield Wednesday are third with 37 violent disorder arrests.

Further out, Doncaster Rovers supporters have been arrested 24 times for violent disorder and Rotherham United fans have been shown to be the most passive with only seven arrests since 2014/15.

The fanbase arrested the most

In football, consistency is key and Blades fans were subject to more football-related arrests than other fanbase in the region. They have been arrested 274 times since the 2014/15 season, 54 more times than Owls fans in second place who have totalled 220.

Barnsley FC fans are third, having been arrested 162 times in total and Rovers fans come in fourth again with 103 total arrests.

If the figures are to be held as gospel, it would appear Rotherham United fans are the best behaved in the entire region, the only club of these five to tally less than 100 arrests over the last decade. Millers fans have been faced 73 football-related arrests since the 2014/15 season.

Last season's order was identical. Sheffield United fans were arrested 27 times over the course of the 2022/23 season, compared to 24 times for Owls fans, 23 times for Barnsley fans, nine times for Doncaster fans and just four times for Rotherham United fans.

The data included figures for a number of football-related incidents, including public disorder, pitch incursions, and racist and indecent chanting (for which only one arrest, of a Doncaster Rovers fan, was made in the region last season).

The football-related arrests data does not include arrests of international football club fans or people who do not support a specific club.