Only ONE arrest for football-related racism in four years attributed to Mansfield Town fans

Only one incident of football-related racism has been attributed to Mansfield Town fans in four years.
Only ONE arrest for football-related racism in four years attributed to Mansfield Town fansOnly ONE arrest for football-related racism in four years attributed to Mansfield Town fans
Only ONE arrest for football-related racism in four years attributed to Mansfield Town fans

Manchester United supporters didn't fare so well, with fans involved in more football-related arrests where racism was an aggravating factor or a feature than any other club in England in the four seasons up to 2017-18, data from the Home Office shows.Data released under a Freedom of Information request by the Press Association shows that 27 individuals recorded as United fans by police were arrested during the seasons 2014-15 to 2017-18.Championship clubs Leeds and Millwall each had 15 supporters arrested, while Leicester had 14 and Chelsea 13. There was one Wigan Athletic fan arrested.The 2018-19 season in England was marred by a series of racism-related incidents and arrests. Data for the season just ended is set to be released later this summer.Where racism has been recorded as a feature of an incident, it requires the arresting officer to tick a box, which is why the Home Office says the overall accuracy of the data cannot be guaranteed.Manchester United pointed to the fact their large attendances meant the percentage of their supporters involved was miniscule.A club spokesperson said: "There is no place for racism within our game, or in society as a whole, and we are committed to working to make football free from all forms of discrimination, whether through our own 'All Red All Equal' campaign or in support of Kick It Out and other organisations."This statistic applies to 0.0004 per cent of our matchgoing fanbase. I does not reflect the views or behaviour of our fans as a whole in any way. We continue with monitoring and liaison with authorities to try and identify and eradicate any forms of discriminatory behaviour, and we take appropriate action if it occurs."

It is understood there are 69,000 home fans among the 72,000 supporters for each match at Old Trafford, with a minimum of 3,000 United fans at every away game.The club first developed the #allredallequal campaign, against all forms of discrimination, during the 2016-17 season.United also have a 'virtual steward' text message process to allow fans to report issues like racist abuse.The data shows an overall total of 107 arrests where racism was recorded as a feature during the 2014-15 season, rising to 114 in 2015-16. The figure then dropped over the next two seasons, with 94 arrests recorded in 2016-17 and just 75 in 2017-18.Other clubs with arrests in double figures are West Ham (11), with Barnsley, Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Sunderland all on 10.In 2018-19 England forward Raheem Sterling alleged he was racially abused during a match for his club Manchester City at Chelsea. The Crown Prosecution Service announced in April that there was insufficient evidence that the words used by a Chelsea fan were racially aggravated.

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England's black players suffered abuse during a Euro 2020 qualifier away to Montenegro in March, while a Tottenham supporter was handed a four-year football ban and a £500 fine for throwing a banana skin towards Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in December last year.Anti-discrimination body Kick It Out reported last November that there were 520 reports of discriminatory abuse during the 2017-18 season, an 11 per cent increase on the previous campaign and the sixth year in a row where the figure had risen.Fifty-three per cent of those reports concerned alleged racist abuse.

Only ONE arrest for football-related racism in four years attributed to Mansfield Town fansOnly ONE arrest for football-related racism in four years attributed to Mansfield Town fans
Only ONE arrest for football-related racism in four years attributed to Mansfield Town fans

In response to the Home Office data obtained by the Press Association concerning arrests, a statement from Kick It Out read: "These figures show racism is a nationwide problem shared by clubs of all different sizes in all parts of the country."We support them in challenging racism and other forms of discrimination, and will continue our programme of education in the game to help reduce this problem."

Here is the full list of football-related arrests where racism was a feature during the seasons 2014-15 to 2017-18, broken down by the club supported.Man Utd 27Leeds 15Millwall 15Leicester 14Chelsea 13West Ham 11Barnsley 10Man City 10Middlesbrough 10Sunderland 10Fulham 9Swansea 9Everton 8Not Completed 8Rotherham 8Stoke 8Aston Villa 7Derby 7Huddersfield 7Liverpool 7Newcastle 7Norwich 7Arsenal 6England 6Portsmouth 6West Brom 6Hull 5Nottm Forest 5Tranmere 5Birmingham 4Bournemouth 4Brentford 4Bristol Rovers 4Carlisle 4Gillingham 4QPR 4Sheff Utd 4Southampton 4Swindon 4Tottenham 4Wolves 4AFC Wimbledon 3Bolton 3Bradford 3Brighton 3Burnley 3Club Brugge 3Luton 3Oxford 3Reading 3Sheff Wed 3Watford 3Anderlecht 2Bristol City 2Cardiff 2Charlton 2Coventry 2Grimsby 2Northampton 2Port Vale 2Preston 2Rochdale 2Accrington 1Barrow 1Bromley 1Burton 1Bury 1Cambridge 1Chester 1Chesterfield 1Colchester 1Crystal Palace 1Doncaster 1Exeter 1Ipswich 1Leyton Orient 1Mansfield 1MK Dons 1Newport 1Notts County 1Peterborough 1Plymouth 1Stevenage 1Wigan 1Wycombe 1