Posted on 19th September 2014
Spurs fan and FSA Board member Chris Paouros takes issue with the idea that just because she’s a woman, she might feel left out by football chat…
Posted on 19th September 2014
This is a story from the FSF archive – the FSF and SD merged to become the FSA in 2019.
You saw the good news reported all over the media last week that football arrests during 2013/14 had dropped by 7% and represented the lowest total on record, right? Of course you didn’t – because it was largely ignored!
While it comes with the usual caveats about there being no room for complacency we do think this fall in arrests is noteworthy. Match-going fans know those hoary-old hooligan stereotypes are, largely, a thing of the past and the numbers back that up.
More than 38m spectators attended regulated football matches in England and Wales last season with only one arrest for every 16,800 spectators. Over the course of 2013/14 that’s less than one person arrested inside or outside the ground at every game.
With that in mind it’s a shame these figures were so widely ignored as last year the likes of the BBC, Guardian, Mail, Mirror, and Telegraph all reported the 4% rise in arrests during 2012/13. That was still part of an overall downward trend as 2010/11 saw a 9% fall while arrests fell by an enormous 24% during 2011/12.
The only national outlets we saw reporting last week’s record low were Wales Online (Western Mail/South Wales Echo) and the Daily Mail – although the fact they were the lowest figures on record still didn’t make the headline in the Mail. We’re sure a record high would have. To the Football League’s credit they did report the news.
Stories depicting fans in a positive light aren’t always deemed newsworthy by those who apparently know of such things, especially when they can’t find an “angle” in it.
One telling example came a few years ago when we appeared on a local radio show after being invited to talk about the 24% decline in arrests.
The conversation swiftly turned to the local side who were near the top of the arrest table. That was primarily because they had large crowds compared to those around them, not because they had a genuine hooligan problem.
Any attempt at analysing the stats to make sense of that club’s particular circumstance was pretty futile. Local radio, two-minute guest slots, and nuance aren’t happy bedfellows.
In addition, arrests don’t give the full picture anyway – they aren’t convictions. It’s safe to assume that many of those fans will have charges dropped, while others have cases thrown out or are found not guilty.
Anyway, this isn’t a pop at journalists or editors, many of the publications and writers we’ve linked to are genuinely supportive of the FSF and football fans – and that is appreciated.
It’s just a gentle reminder that good news is still worth reporting too.
The Home Office says:
Spurs fan and FSA Board member Chris Paouros takes issue with the idea that just because she’s a woman, she might feel left out by football chat…
The almost-decade long decline in football-related arrests shows no signing of stopping according to the latest round of Home Office statistics.
AFC Wimbledon have launched a bond scheme to help the supporter-owned club to return to Plough Lane.
COVID-19 has presented a hugely challenging and uncertain time for everyone and our thoughts are with all those directly affected by the pandemic. The Government’s message is clear – stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives.