Football-related arrests involving Reading have more than doubled from last season, according to government figures.

Last year, the Royals were among the lowest with just eight arrests, and that in itself was double pre-Covid levels.

This has jumped to 19 for the 2021/22 campaign, still in the bottom half of the Championship for arrests.

For a point of comparison, Burnley had 50 arrests while Birmingham City and Millwall both topped 40.

Eight of the 19 arrests were for public disorder offences, while violent disorder, throwing missiles, offensive chanting and alcohol offences all featured.

There were a total of 2,264 football-related arrests in the top five divisions in England and Wales last season, an increase of almost 1,000 across a five-year period.

But that increased figure included 200 arrests for the possession of class A drugs, added as an offence under the Football Spectators Act in November 2022, and 101 arrests in England and Wales that related to the World Cup in Qatar.

With overall attendance up to 45 million at the matches included in the results, the number of arrests worked out at 5.0 per 100,000 fans, down from 5.2 per 100,000 the previous season.

A total of 123 arrests were made related to overseas matches involving England and Wales. While 101 were connected with the men’s World Cup in Qatar, none were related to the Women’s World Cup.

The number of recorded incidents of online hate crime was 234, up from 103 the previous year, although this rise was attributed to better reporting and recording of such incidents.

Reading Chronicle:

Club Arrests

West Ham United 89
Manchester United 83
Leeds United 69
Manchester City 66
Arsenal 51
Tottenham Hotspur 51
Burnley 50
Leicester City 49
Everton 48
Birmingham City 47
Millwall 47
Chelsea 45
Newcastle United 39
Southampton 39
Bolton Wanderers 35
Middlesbrough 35
Peterborough United 35
Derby County 34
Blackburn Rovers 31
Hull City 30
Plymouth Argyle 30
Sunderland 30
Blackpool 29
Liverpool 27
Sheffield United 27
Wolverhampton Wanderers 27
Lincoln City 26
Stoke City 26
Torquay United 26
Barrow 25
Cambridge United 25
Coventry City 24
Sheffield Wednesday 24
Aston Villa 23
Barnsley 23
Nottingham Forest 23
Bradford City 22
Swansea City 21
Brighton & Hove Albion 19
Reading 19
Southend United 19
Exeter City 18
Notts County 18
Cardiff City 17
Wrexham 17
Brentford 16
Luton Town 16
Portsmouth 16
Bristol Rovers 15
Oldham Athletic 15
Bristol City 14
Crewe Alexandra 14
Crystal Palace 14
Grimsby Town 14
Huddersfield Town 14
Mansfield Town 14
Watford 14
Chesterfield 13
Oxford United 13
Preston North End 13
Stockport County 13
Swindon Town 13
Carlisle United 11
Milton Keynes Dons 11
Rochdale 11
West Bromwich Albion 11
Gillingham 10
Port Vale 10
Queens Park Rangers 10
Charlton Athletic 9
Doncaster Rovers 9
Fulham 9
Hartlepool United 9
Norwich City 9
Ipswich Town 8
Scunthorpe United 8
Walsall 8
Wigan Athletic 8
AFC Bournemouth 7
Shrewsbury Town 7
Stevenage 6
York City 6
AFC Wimbledon 5
Crawley Town 5
FC Halifax Town 5
Fleetwood Town 5
Rotherham United 4
Tranmere Rovers 4
Cheltenham Town 3
Forest Green Rovers 3
Leyton Orient 3
Newport County 3
Wealdstone 3
Aldershot Town 2
Bromley 2
Maidenhead United 2
Maidstone United 2
Northampton Town 2
Wycombe Wanderers 2
Accrington Stanley 1
Barnet 1
Burton Albion 1
Colchester United 1
Dagenham & Redbridge 1
Dorking Wanderers 1
Altrincham 0
Boreham Wood 0
Eastleigh 0
Gateshead 0
Harrogate Town 0
Morecambe 0
Salford City 0
Solihull Moors 0
Sutton United 0
Woking 0
Yeovil Town 0