READING FC might not be great at away games, but home is definitely where the heart is this season. And a new survey has found it’s pretty safe for fans too.
Website scams.info anaylased more than 70 million crime and anti-social reports within 1km of football stadiums across the country.
It found that there were, on average, just 0.10 incidents per 100 matchday fans at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, making it the fourth safest stadium in the country.
The safest, with 0.04 incident per 100 attendees, is the Amex – home to Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Amex Stadium has an average of 445,037 annual attendants and 180 yearly incidents, making its crime rate extremely rare. There are 95% fewer crimes than in the vicinity of Selhurst Park (0.95 per 100), home to one of Brighton’s biggest rivals, Crystal Palace.
In second place is Manchester United’s Old Trafford with just 0.06 incidents per 100 attendants, on average. Old Trafford has an average of 1,418,806 yearly attendants making it the largest stadium in the UK. This is 60% fewer crimes than within 1km of the Etihad Stadium (0.15 per 100), home to United’s derby rivals Manchester City.
In joint third place is Bolton Wanderers’ Bolton Stadium and Wycombe Wanderers’ Adams Park with 0.09 incidents per 100 attendants, on average. This is 76% fewer than Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium with 0.39 incidents per 100, on average.
At the other end of the scale, Mourneview Park Stadium home to Glenavon in Northern Ireland has 13.44 anti-social incidents per 100 attendants, the highest of all stadiums analysed.
The average attendance at Mourneview Park is just 9,360, which makes the average of 1,258 yearly incidents seem very high.
In comparison, Coleraine Showgrounds Stadium, home to Glenavon’s rivals, Coleraine FC, have just 3.54 incidents per 100 people. This is 73% fewer crimes than at Glenavon.
Aiden Howe from Scams.info said: “Away games involve going to the other teams’ home turf which means heightened risk of being the target of football related violence.
“Be careful when walking around wearing your team’s kit in areas where rowdy home fans are likely to accumulate.
“Large crowds also attracts petty theft as it allows anonymity for pickpockets, so make sure your bags are zipped and not left unattended, avoid flashing cash or expensive items in public making you a target for criminals.”
The full data can be accessed at: https://www.scams.info/blog/player-protection/uk-football-stadiums-highest-rates-crime/
