Hundreds of England fans arrested for football disorder during World Cup — but most on home soil

Hundreds of England fans arrested for football disorder during World Cup — but most on home soil Police praised supporters who travelled to the USA, Mexico and Canada for their conduct but warned that wider football-related disorder remains a concern Hundreds of of England football thugs were arrested on home soil for disorder during the World Cup, new figures reveal. Home Office data shows there were 19 arrests of travelling England fans during the 2026 tournament. In total, 16 arrests were made in the United States, three arrests were made in Mexico and no arrests were made in Canada. But in England and Wales, there were 357 football-related arrests for Three Lions supporters during the tournament. A further 15 football-related arrests were recorded in connection with tournament matches that did not involve the England national team. Supporters clashed with Argentina fans outside the Atlanta Stadium following the England's devastating World Cup exit. Chaos erupted outside the ground before armed cops made multiple arrests after the heartbreaking 2-1 defeat in the semi-finals. But arrests were also made in the UK as boozed-up Brits enjoyed relaxed licencing laws for the late-night fixtures. Football's policing lead in the UK, Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, said the arrests were "unacceptably" high despite the fact they exclude related offences such as domestic abuse. Those supporters who travelled over the Atlantic were praised for their "exemplary". But Chief Const Hobrough, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) lead for football policing, said the conduct of fans back at home, during the World Cup and the 2025/26 domestic season, was much more troubling. He said: "Though the vast majority of supporters attending domestic fixtures in the UK are law-abiding and enjoy supporting their teams at great games, there still remain an unacceptable number who spoil the event for others. "2,025 people were arrested for football-related incidents during the domestic season in 2025-26, and disappointingly this number is up from 2,004 in 2024-25. In addition, 357 people were arrested in England and Wales for football-related incidents during the 2026 World Cup alone. "Sadly, these figures do not paint a full picture as they do not include many of the associated offences, such as domestic abuse, which often occur behind closed doors after the full-time whistle has blown and in many cases nowhere near any stadium or club with individuals who've not attended any game themselves. "However, as the figures show, we are continuing to take action against those responsible, and moving forward, we will continue to work with our partners including the Crown Prosecution Service, the Premier League, the EFL and the Football Association to collectively make football a safe environment for the overwhelming majority of supporters who just want to enjoy the game." The Home Office first released data related to the 2025-26 season in July, which showed there were 1,963 football-related arrests or police actions. The new data showed an increase to 2,025. The total number of arrests for 2025-26 — covering the domestic season, the World Cup at home and in North America, plus arrests outside England and Wales at European games — was 2,403, down on 2023-24's total of 2,584, which was the last season which ended with a men's international tournament. Tom Greatrex, chair of the Football Supporters’ Association, said: "It’s good to see the positive behaviour of England’s travelling fans during the World Cup recognised by the authorities but we have concerns about how the overall dataset is presented. "What it tells us about matchdays is distorted by the inclusion of arrests which should not be included. You can be arrested in a pub in the UK while watching a match on TV which takes place 5,000 miles away and that becomes a football arrest. "There’s no excuse for bad behaviour anywhere but that isn’t helpful as it leads to the perception that disorder at football has increased when arrest rates remain largely unchanged from a decade ago." Earlier this year, it emerged domestic abuse reports during the tournament reached record highs in the UK. In total, 384 domestic violence incidents were reported during the tournament — representing 17 per cent of the 2,322 incidents reported. Ninety-three per cent occurred around England's matches and only Euro 2020 recorded more. The rise has been described as a worrying increase, with alcohol once again viewed as the lead contributing factor.