There were 101 hate crimes reported at London’s football stadiums in the year to June 2022, new figures reveal. Labour’s London Policing and Crime Spokesperson, Unmesh Desai AM, who obtained the new data through a written question to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said that while an increase in reporting shows that fans are becoming more comfortable to call out “vile language, or disgusting behaviour”, lots of abuse is still going unreported - and unpunished.
Between 1st June 2021 and 31st May 2022, the Metropolitan Police dealt with 83 Public Order Offences, 60 of which were racially, or religiously, aggravated and 18 Violence Against the Person incidents flagged as hate crimes at football grounds. Another written answer from the Mayor of London to Mr Desai stated that just 116 hate crime offences had been reported at football stadiums in the capital between January 2015 and December 2018.
A report from the organisation, Kick it Out, found that in the UK, half of all fans surveyed in 2018 had witnessed racist abuse (50%), but less than half would know how to report it (40%). With more than 150,000 fans estimated to attend games across London each week during the football season, these figures show that in 2022 there is still a significant underreporting of hate crimes occurring across all of London’s football stadiums.
In 2019, Mr Desai wrote letters to every football league club in London to discuss what was being done to increase hate crime reporting. Ahead of the 2022/23 season he is now writing to the FA, the Premier League and the Football League, to ask them what they are doing to address the continued low reporting rates of hate crime incidents at football stadiums.
Meanwhile, last month the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that fans convicted of football-related online hate crime can now be banned from attending matches. Previously, football banning orders could only apply to in-person offences. The CPS said it would now be able to ask courts for tougher penalties for supporters "intent on hateful conduct”. A 2021 PFA study found that 44% of Premier League players received abuse online. Players across all leagues faced racist, homophobic, ableist and sexist abuse.
Labour’s London Assembly Policing and Crime Spokesperson, Unmesh Desai AM, said:
“We cannot let hate turn the beautiful game ugly. Football should be enjoyed by all, regardless of race, religion or sexuality. It has a significant cultural influence on wider society, especially with younger people.
“All Londoners must feel safe when supporting their team, without fear of intimidation or violence and without being subjected to vile language or disgusting behaviour, as should stewards, club staff and the players themselves.
“There have been some encouraging steps in reporting hate crimes at grounds, and online – but there’s a long way to go. I’m urging fans to call out hate wherever they come across it, then the authorities must step in and make sure those responsible are held accountable.
“This behaviour has to stop – that’s why I’m writing to football’s governing bodies ahead of the new season to ask what action they’re taking to tackle the low reporting rate of hate crimes at football stadiums.”
Notes to editors
- The new data on the number of hate crimes reported at London football stadiums came from the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s response to a written question from Unmesh Desai AM;
- Kick it Out’s most recent national reporting statistics are available here;
- The latest CPS legal guidance on football banning orders can be found here;
- Unmesh Desai AM is the London Assembly Member for City and East (covering Barking and Dagenham, Newham, Tower Hamlets and City of London).