Newcastle fans worst in FA for banning orders - Sunderland fans three times less likely to face action

Figures released by the Home Office show Newcastle fans as having double the amount of banning orders to the nearest club, Chelsea as at August 1 2016.

The data, released by the Home Office, also shows 22 NUFC fans were arrested at home games and 30 at away games last season: seven for violent disorder, 17 for public disorder, two for throwing missiles, one for a pitch incursion, 21 for alcohol offences, one for ticket touting and three for criminal damage.

Almost 2,000 football-related arrests were made in the 2015/16 season - the first increase in three years.

Over an almost identical period, more than 2,000 banning orders for fans were in force, down 4% from the previous period.

The orders are preventative measures following a conviction for a football-related offence or a complaint from police or the CPS.

The Newcastle figures contrast strongly with those for Sunderland fans, with 37 banning orders in place on Black Cats fans as at August 1. And 51 were arrested last season, with 24 nicked at home games and 27 at away games.

Three of those arrests were for violent disorder, 14 for public disorder, one for throwing missiles, four for racist and indecent chanting, 15 for pitch incursions, 11 for alcohol offences and three for possession of pyrotechnics.

Middlesbrough fans were slapped with a total of 26 banning orders and saw 38 arrests, and Hartlepool fans were hit with 25 bans and saw 10 arrests.

Two North East clubs were among the best behaved, however, with Gateshead fans receiving no bans at all, and Blyth Spartans fans receiving just one.

The top 10 clubs in England and Wales with the highest number of banning orders on August 1 2016 were:

1. Newcastle United - 124

2. Chelsea - 60

3. Millwall - 57

4. Wolverhampton Wanderers - 52

5. Liverpool - 49

6. Burnley - 48

7= Leeds United - 47

7= Bristol Rovers - 47

9= West Ham United - 44

9= Cardiff City - 44