Arsenal confirm 17 fans banned for abusive and discriminatory behaviour | OneFootball

The number is down on the previous season

Arsenal banned 17 supporters last season for abusive and discriminatory behaviour, the club have confirmed.

Six of those banned were due to online abuse, with the other 11 cases related to incidents in the stadium.

All 17 have been banned for between one and three years, during which they are prohibited from attending any Arsenal match, home or away.

Arsenal are assisting the Met Police in nine other investigations, in which all supporters remain suspended pending the resolution of their cases.

The Gunners have published the figures ahead of their first home game of the new Premier League season, which will take place on Saturday when they host Leeds United.

Arsenal take a strong stance against all forms of abuse and discrimination, and they have reiterated that to supporters ahead of this weekend’s game.

The opening game of the Premier League season last Friday was marred after Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo reported being racially abused during the match at Anfield.

The bans handed out by Arsenal last season have been broken down into different offences. For the online incidents, three cases were death threats, two were homophobia and one was abuse.

The bans handed out for incidents in the stadium broke down as: three for assault, three for sexual language/harassment, two for racism, two for public order offences and one for antisocial behaviour.

Arsenal work hard to fight all forms of abuse and discrimination and the number of bans handed out has decreased over the past three seasons. In total, 24 fans were banned for offences during the 2023-24 season.

The club work with data science company Signify Group, using its specialist Threat Matrix service, to support their efforts in combating targeted online abuse.

Threat Matrix is used to monitor social media channels to support the club in detecting and reporting content targeting their players and staff.

Last season, Arsenal verified around 4,500 posts as abusive towards players and staff. Of these, six identified abusers were given bans, and one resulted in law enforcement action.

Arsenal’s managing director, Richard Garlick, said: “Abusive and discriminatory behaviour has no place at our club.

“Whilst we know that it often comes from a small minority, that will not stop us from acting against abusers who are identified as Arsenal season ticket holders or members and escalating these incidents to law enforcement where appropriate.

“We will continue to take swift and decisive action to tackle abuse of any kind as we continue to build a home where everyone feels safe and welcome.”