Premier League clubs slammed for failing to tackle number of coked-up yobs at matches

A TOP football cop has blasted Premier League clubs for failing to tackle the number of coked-up yobs attending matches, following a Sun on Sunday probe.

Cocaine binges have been linked to a 45 per cent increase in trouble at grounds in the past two years — including matchday violence, pitch invasions and assaults on players.

A Watford supporter was left seriously injured in December after being attacked during a home game against Everton. One of four men arrested for GBH was found to be in possession of the drug.

And a Tottenham fan was caught on camera apparently snorting a line of drugs after running on to the pitch to celebrate the club’s last game at White Hart Lane in 2017.

Cocaine use is said to be ­soaring, with the street price ­falling to £5 a wrap in parts of the country. Home Office statistics show six per cent of those aged 16 to 59 took the drug in 2017/18.

But our probe reveals no arrests have been made at a string of top-flight clubs despite brazen use of the Class A drug.

Deputy chief constable Mark Roberts — the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for football policing — fires an unprecedented broadside today at clubs spending millions on players and agents but little on proper policing.

'FOOTBALL NEEDS TO INVEST'

He told The Sun on Sunday: “We know from the effect cocaine has on people’s behaviour that they may react in a way that can make a situation even more difficult for officers to handle.

“To deter and prevent cocaine use, the football industry needs to take firm and swift action rather than simply engage in rhetoric.

“This means having effective policing operations outside grounds. For that to happen, the industry needs to invest a fraction of what it pays agents into security at its venues and the surrounding areas.

“Football wants its stadiums to be shiny and pristine but on the outside, police are left to pick up the pieces. The cocaine problem is very much a part of that.”

His blast follows the disclosure of police force figures via Freedom of Information inquiries on cocaine arrests at Premier League grounds.

Figures relating to 16 clubs show just 71 arrests during the course of the 2018/19 season, with the stats covering all but the final day of the season.

Not one person was arrested for cocaine possession at Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground, where crowds reach 76,000.

TOP COP'S WARNING

Two were nabbed at Manchester City while just seven arrests in total were reported across Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Fulham and West Ham.

Three were arrested at Watford, two at Southampton’s St Mary’s ground, and one at Wolves’ Molineux stadium. Lancashire police arrested two at Burnley’s Turf Moor, with no arrests made at Bournemouth or Huddersfield.

Only on Merseyside were cops facing up to the coke menace.

Twenty people have been arrested for possession at Liverpool’s Anfield and 34 at Everton’s Goodison Park this season.

But the figures are still tiny given the millions of fans who attend Premier League matches over the course of the season.

There have also been a string of violent incidents outside the top flight, including Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish being punched by a pitch invader in March during a Championship match at Birmingham.

A fan on coke is much more likely to get involved in confrontation or do something impulsive like running on to the pitch, as the drug increases bravado.

Sun doctor Carol Cooper

Yob Paul Mitchell was jailed for 14 weeks for assault, but there is no suggestion he had taken drugs.

Senior officers say the cocaine scourge is virtually impossible to deal with as clubs replace police with cheaper stewards.

Many do not have the powers to search fans deemed a threat to public order, let alone arrest them for blatant drug abuse.

A football supporters source told The Sun on Sunday: “There’s strong anecdotal evidence suggesting cocaine abuse at games has been increasing for some time.

“On rare occasions when police deploy dogs outside grounds to detect the drug, wraps are ­invariably found dumped nearby.

“But if police are serious about tackling this problem, they should not expect clubs to foot the bill.

“They should commit their own resources to tackling it.”

As cocaine becomes cheaper and more accessible, Sun doctor Carol Cooper says there is “no question” the rise in its use and bad ­behaviour at matches are linked.

She said: “Cocaine is linked to increased aggression, overconfidence and impulsive behaviour.

“A fan on coke is much more likely to get involved in confrontation or do something impulsive like running on to the pitch, as the drug increases bravado.

“Many football fans are pumped up naturally on testosterone, and the ­addition of cocaine is undoubtedly a dangerous combination.”

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