Assault-based injuries are on the rise in EFL and Premier League stadiums

Premier League, Championship, League One, and League Two stadiums all saw a 31% increase in the number of spectators injured by assaults during the 2021/2022 season after two years of fans being unable to attend games due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. 

According to statistics from the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA), which licenses and regulates 93 stadiums across the English Football League (EFL) and the Premier League, there were 91 assault-based injuries during the 2021/2022 season, up from 68 in the 2018/2019 season.  

However, this number could be higher as many assaults go unreported. 30% of injuries were labelled as ‘un-reported’ by the SGSA, which could hint that injuries caused by assault are in fact a much larger number. 

‘Drug abuse up’

Mark Holland, an SGSA Inspector, believes that this rise in assault-based injuries was due to the two years of football being held behind closed doors. 

Mr Holland said: “Police and stewards haven’t been working since the pandemic so they might be a bit rusty, plus there was a loss of experience over the 18 months of the pandemic with stewards and police officers leaving and not being replaced.

“You saw that at Wembley during the Euro 2020 final.

“Drug abuse at games has also gone up.

“It’s not a secret that alcohol abuse and cocaine abuse is rampant in football which is probably another reason for the rise.”

Yet, the SGSA report stated that “any injuries which can be attributed to the intoxication of the spectator are excluded”, which could mean the number of assaults were higher than 98 across English football. 

The total number of spectator injuries in the Premier League and EFL during the 2021/2022 season was 1841, an increase on the 2018/2019 season, where there were 2069 spectator injuries.  

More assaults

Worryingly for football-goers, the proportion of injuries that were the result of an assault grew across the board from 5% of total injuries in 2021/22 compared with 3% in 2018/19.

Premier League and Championship fans were the most violent in the 2021/2022 season, with 59 and 27 accounts of assaults being recorded at their stadiums, respectively. 

The Championship saw its proportion of assault-based injuries and spectator injuries rise from 3% in 2018/2019 to 6% in the 2021/2022 season. 

In contrast, Leagues One and Two were much safer stadiums to go to, with 3% of total injuries being a result of an assault in 2021/2022 up from just 1% in the 2018/2019 season. 

Security firms that provide stewarding services for large football stadiums say they are still feeling the hangover from the staff shortages due to the covid-19 pandemic. 

Duncan Robertson, a security consultant at Venture Security said staff retention is key in keeping stadiums safe, but pointed to the volatile nature of footballing crowds after the pandemic which he said were keeping staff away from the profession. 

Mr. Robertson said: “Anti-social behaviour at football grounds puts off staff who can earn similar amounts of money elsewhere in other industries, like logistics, without the aggravation. 

“Big games like the FA Cup final at Wembley need 7,000-10,000 staff but because of the winter break this year there will be competition from other large summer events. 

“The populace is frustrated, especially among male young adults, which is driven by social media and drug use which added to change in psychology due to the pandemic has seen football grounds become increasingly volatile.”

Despite the rise in injuries caused by assaults the most frequent cause of all injuries across English Football League stadiums were slips, trips, and falls which accounted for 30% of the total injuries in stadiums.

Meanwhile, the most common type of injury was cuts and lacerations which made up 28% of injuries. 

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