A 'lockdown generation' of young thugs is fuelling a rise in football hooliganism across the UK, an expert told MailOnline today after fresh scenes of shocking violence over the weekend.
Footage on Saturday showed a mass brawl between Millwall and Southampton fans at Waterloo Station, with hooded men leaping over ticket barriers to get involved in the punch-up as other travellers fled in fear.
Trouble also broke out yesterday between Chelsea and Liverpool fans at Box Park in Croydon, where a video appeared to show two men fighting before others weighed in.
Geoff Pearson, a professor of law at the University of Manchester and one of the UK's foremost authorities on football hooliganism, said some of the trouble can be traced back to lockdown.
He said boys attending games for the first time usually go with relatives or older friends, who help set the boundaries of acceptable behaviour before they go alone with peers of a similar age when they are more mature.
Footage on Saturday showed a mass brawl between Millwall and Southampton fans at Waterloo Station
Terrifying footage shows hooded men jumping over barriers at the busy stations
But Dr Pearson said lockdown had stripped out this crucial formative step for a generation of youngsters.
'If you think of how fan communities work when you don't have lockdowns, young fans go with family members, who at points will make interventions and draw the line about what is acceptable,' he told MailOnline.
'During lockdown these young fans were set at home.
'So you had a sudden rush of young, new fans rushing into stadiums at the same time.
'Good policing relies on officers knowing fans, particular away fans, which did not happen over lockdown.
'We also lost a lot of experienced police and security officials. I suspect we're still putting some of that back together.'
Football-related arrests stand at their highest level for nine years, with 2,264 arrests during the 2022-23 season, an increase of 66 on last year and the highest figure since 2013-14.
The figures for last year included arrests made in England and Wales relating to overseas matches and arrests for possession of Class A drugs for the first time.
There were 682 new football banning orders issued last season, an increase of 32 per cent compared to the 2021-22 campaign and the highest number issued since 960 in 2010-11.
Football-related arrests stand at their highest level for nine years, with 2,264 arrests during the 2022-23 season
There were 682 new football banning orders issued last season, an increase of 32 per cent compared to the 2021-22 campaign
Trouble also broke out yesterday between Chelsea and Liverpool fans at Box Park in Croydon
The footage later cuts to show five men outside of Box Park as they resumed their fight
Out of the 1,624 football banning orders in force on August 1, 2023, 1,618 were given to men, and 1,133 to those aged between 18 and 34 - equivalent to 70 per cent of the total.
Dr Pearson said: 'Post-lockdown we had quite a significant uptick in violence and antisocial behaviour and the first season back after lockdown was probably the worst we've had in a decade.
'I think it has settled down a little bit since that first uptick but we seem to still be a bit higher than we were prior to lockdown.'
Last month's Black Country derby between Wolves and West Brom had to be suspended for nearly 40 minutes after fighting broke out in the stands.
West Brom defender Kyle Bartley intervened to remove his daughter from the stand where the trouble flared as his team-mates anxiously messaged family members. There were unconfirmed reports that players' families had been spat at.
Scotland has also suffered outbreaks of football-related violence, with a Scottish League Two match between Stanraer and Clyde ending in chaos on February 10 as home supporters reportedly attacked their rivals with golf clubs.
Last month's Black Country derby between Wolves and West Brom had to be suspended for nearly 40 minutes after fighting broke out in the stands
At one point Albion defender Kyle Bartley (pictured) was seen carrying a young boy while holding the hand of a little girl as he tried to escape the unrest on the pitch
Police officers run to reinforce colleagues at the other end of the ground
Drug use has frequently been blamed for increasing violence at football stadiums, but Dr Pearson warned against 'rushing to conclusions'.
He said: 'I think it's fair to say that drug use has been increasing in football contexts in the same way as it has in other sectors of society.
'Someone who has taken cocaine and alcohol may be more likely to be involved in disorder at matches, but at the same time the picture on drugs isn't clear and we need to be careful to jump to conclusions.
'We're not just seeing football fans use cocaine but also drugs like MDMA and ketamine, which aren't considered to cause violence.'
He added that even more severe football-related violence had been seen across the Continent, meaning the UK was by no means an outlier.
'Countries like the Netherlands, France and Greece have been struggling with post-pandemic increases in disorder much more than we are,' Dr Pearson said.
'They've taken quite dramatic measures in Greece with matches behind closed doors. I'd say we're actually better placed in this country because we've managed to maintain some continuity in the way we police matches.
'And the police are adopting progressive measures rather than the regressive clampdown we seen in the likes of Greece and France.'
