131 arrests in year at football grounds
Pitch invasions, racist chanting, illegal fireworks – these are just some of the offences football fans were arrested for at grounds in the West Midlands.
Last year, a total of 131 arrests were made at the homes of Wolves, West Brom, Walsall, Aston Villa, Birmingham City and Coventry City.
Three fans were arrested at Molineux over 'racist incidents' while one supporter was dealt with for racist chanting at the Hawthorns and three at Villa Park. At St Andrews, there were three arrests for 'indecent chanting'.
Figures revealed at the request of the Express & Star showed a total of 131 arrests were made at football grounds in the West Midlands during 2014. That was down by nearly half on the year before when there were 233 arrests. Police took action with fans who took fireworks into grounds, hurled objects and ran onto the pitch.
There were also a number of alcohol-related incidents.
During the period, the most arrests were made at Molineux. It comes at a time when the behaviour of football fans has been cast into the spotlight.
Police made 17 arrests following the FA Cup quarter final between Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion last week, while Watford supporter Nick Cruyws was left in a critical condition after being attacked as he left Molineux. Racism has also been high on the agenda after Chelsea fans were filmed pushing a black man off the Paris metro.
Chief Superintendent Chris Johnson, from West Midlands Police, said: "The manner in which we police football fixtures has evolved over recent seasons to reflect the changing face of football-related incidents.
"The basic principle remains that while public safety remains our absolute priority, football-related violence and disorder will be dealt with robustly."
Keeley Baptista, from football racism campaign group Kick it Out, said: "Incidents still remain commonplace across all levels of the game."
A total of 90 arrests were made before, during and after Wolves games over the past two years.
At the Hawthorns, 59 arrests were made during 2013 and 2014, which included one supporter who had an offensive weapon. There was the same number of arrests at Walsall's Banks's Stadium.
At Walsall there were four arrests for wounding, three for assault and two for obstructing a police officer. Two fans also breached banning orders at the Banks's.
Villa Park saw a total of 70 arrests while there were 84 at city rivals Birmingham.
The figures did not say whether offences were committed by home or away supporters.
