Almost 100 football-related hate crimes recorded in capital

By Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

Almost 100 football-related hate crimes have been recorded in London in the space of a year, new data has revealed.

Met statistics showed that there were 96 hate crimes at stadiums and other football-related settings between November 2022 and October 2023.

Offenses covered by the hate crime definition include racism, homophobia and hate directed at people due to their gender, faith or disability.

The figures were requested by Unmesh Desai, a Labour member of the London Assembly, who urged fans “to call out and report hate wherever they come across it”.

The number of incidents peaked in February 2023, when 29 offenses were recorded – more than 30 per cent of the total. By contrast, only one incident was recorded in December 2022.

Mr Desai said: “No one can deny the importance of football in London – it’s part of the lifeblood of our city.

“It’s crucial that we do not tolerate behavior which makes fans feel unsafe supporting their teams. We cannot let hate turn the beautiful game ugly.

“I want to commend the work of clubs across London taking action to tackle hate crime, particularly Millwall and Dagenham and Redbridge who have made great strides.”

He added: “I’m urging fans to call out and report hate wherever they come across it so that police and club management can step in. Together, we can hold to account those using football to push hate.”

Hate crimes can be reported to the Met Police at: https://www.met.police.uk/true-vision-report-hate-crime

To report a discriminatory incident to Kick it Out, visit: https://www.kickitout.org/report

Picture: Pixabay/KEREM_TASER