Photo: Payo / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Arsenal confirmed that nine supporters received football banning orders or stadium bans during the 2025/26 season for offences including assault, racism, antisemitism, homophobia and antisocial behaviour.
The bans range from one to three years, during which the individuals are prohibited from attending Arsenal matches. The club is also assisting police with 13 further ongoing investigations into alleged offences committed at matches or online.
The nine bans break down as follows: assault (3), racism (3), antisemitism (1), homophobia (1) and antisocial behaviour (1).
On the online abuse front, Arsenal worked with data science company Signify Group through its Threat Matrix service throughout the season. The club verified more than 17,700 posts and comments as abusive — a significant increase on the previous season — completed 267 investigations and positively identified 39 individuals, of whom nine cases were referred to law enforcement.
Arsenal Chief Executive Officer Richard Garlick said: "Abuse and discrimination have no place at Arsenal, whether in our stadium or online. While these incidents involve a small minority, we will continue to take action when they happen, while doing everything we can to protect our players, staff, supporters and communities."
As part of its response strategy, the club offers banned individuals the chance to reduce their punishment by completing a one-to-one education programme run by Kick It Out, in which participants discuss the impact of their behaviour and demonstrate willingness to change.
Supporters who witness offensive behaviour can report it anonymously by texting "Foul" to 67777 with a description of the incident and location, or via the club's website.