Leeds fans top unwanted league table ahead of Man Utd & Sunderland after Newcastle United incident

This comes after the Home Office released its latest annual statistics for ‘football-related arrests and banning orders’ in the top five divisions of English football last month. While West Ham United led the way in terms of total fan arrests with 89 during the 2022-23 season ahead of Manchester City with 76 and Manchester United with 72.

Newcastle were outside of the top 10 with 26 arrests. Broken down, eight of those arrests were down to alcohol offences, four to drug possessions, four to violent disorder, three to public disorder, three to pyrotechnic possession, one to breaching a banning order, one to throwing a missile and one to a pitch incursion.

That pitch incursion arrest came down at Nottingham Forest last season as Newcastle came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to a stoppage time penalty from Alexander Isak.

Looking across England’s top five divisions, it is Leeds fans who have been the worst offenders for pitch incursions with 58 over the last 10 seasons. The only season Leeds avoided any arrests for pitch invading was the 2020-21 campaign which was played entirely behind closed doors.

Leeds pitch invasion incident v Newcastle United

The one of the most recent pitch invasion arrest involving a Leeds fan came in May last season as supporter confronted Newcastle boss Eddie Howe at Elland Road.

David Derbyshire was given a 12-week prison sentence and a six-year football banning order at Leeds Magistrates Court on Friday, September 8.

In a hearing on July 21, Derbyshire pleaded guilty to charges of entering the playing area at a designated football match without lawful excuse and common assault against Newcastle boss Eddie Howe during the 93rd minute of the match that took place at Elland Road on May 13.

The incident was broadcast live on BT Sport and saw the supporter approach Howe in his technical area and engage in a verbal altercation before pushing the Newcastle boss on the shoulder.

Other worst offending teams

Sunderland are the second worst offending team with 55 pitch incursion arrests since the 2013-14 season and Coventry City are in third with 52 arrests over the past 10 seasons.

However, in the case of Sunderland and Coventry, a large proportion of pitch invasion arrests came during the 2013-14 season with Sunderland having 17 arrests and Coventry having 15 in that season alone.

West Ham are fourth with 51 pitch incursion arrests while Manchester United and Manchester City are joint-fifth with 46 arrests each.

Everton (39), Portsmouth (39), Sheffield United (36) and Aston Villa (35) complete the top 10.

Newcastle United have had 26 supporters arrested over the last 10 seasons for pitch incursions with the club’s most in a single season being eight during the 2013-14 campaign. The Magpies saw no pitch incursion arrests during the 2017-18 campaign as well as the 2019-20 behind closed doors season.