Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has vowed to make sure football fans who attend at games are safe from violence and disorder.

The force says they have helped to enforce order at 80 men’s games at the six league clubs in the region and they have largely passed without incident.

However police have vowed to crackdown on the minority who cause issues with 32 arrests being made for assault, criminal damage, throwing missiles, possession of pyrotechnics and hate related public order.

GMP say people arrested at games can be made subject to a football banning order which can ban them from matches for 10 years or lead to immediate imprisonment.

A police spokesperson said: “We have dedicated football officers working closely with each of our six league clubs and have increased the number of operational football officers we have at fixtures involving our teams home and away.
“This has helped us continue to improve how we liaise with football clubs, spectators, and other police forces across the country to mitigate any potential trouble on matchdays.

“We also have excellent engagement with supporter groups to ensure that we are continuing to enhance and develop our relationships, as well as building trust and confidence between fans and the police.

“Our focus is always to keep the public safe to enable them to have a trouble-free time when going to watch their team play.

“We are always visible at games and want to do all we can to help – especially at this weekend’s Manchester derby – so if you ever have information or concerns then don’t hesitate to approach us.”

Figures revealed recently showed Bolton Wanderers were once of the worse fanbases in the country in terms of having orders imposed.

A total of 14 bans were imposed against Wanderers fans after a pitch invasion in February.

Disorder also broke out last November after a home clash with Wigan.

After the recent figures were revealed, Bolton Wanderers CEO Neil Hart said work was being done to tackle the problem.

He said: “As a club we are aware of historic behavioural issues involving a very small section of our fanbase at matches and have taken a pro-active approach to tackling them through a number of initiatives, including the issuing of banning orders.

“The work we’ve undertaken during the course of the 2021/22 season with our safeguarding team, and with the police, is proving to be effective for us in terms of tackling incidents of disorder and that is reflected in these statistics.”