Arrest figures may be down, but incidents of hate crime at football matches in England and Wales rose by 47 per cent last season.
Manchester City's Raheem Sterling and Manchester United's Marcus Rashford have been among those targeted recently and it would appear that they are not alone.
Last year there were hate crime incidents - 79 per cent of which related to race - at 193 matches, up from 131. However, the total of football-related arrests fell by 10 per cent to 1,381.
The Home Office report did say that the rise in hate crime was likely to be partially down to improvements in recording mechanisms. However, the statistics have sparked conflicting responses with both anti-racism charity Kick It Out and the police raising concern over the hate crime figures, while the Football Supporters Federation hailed the overall reduction in arrests.
A Kick It Out spokesperson said: 'It's encouraging to see that more people are comfortable reporting discrimination and we are working hard to make this as easy as possible for all to do, but it is undeniable that we are experiencing a rise in hateful behaviour across the game and wider society.
'These figures should serve as a reminder for football - we must increase our efforts to send a clear message to any fan who discriminates at a match: you will be identified, arrested and face a football banning order.'
Deputy Chief Constable Mark Roberts, from the National Police Chief's Council, added: 'Hate crime is on the rise, and this reflects some of the high-profile incidents reported over the past season. We are committed to working with the leagues and clubs to tackle these issues but that will take a sustained focus on security from all concerned.'
The FSF pointed out that arrest figures had now continuously declined for almost a decade. 'It's reassuring to see this long-term downward trend continue,' said FSA caseworker Amanda Jacks. 'These figures show what match-going supporters know instinctively - that the overwhelming majority of games pass without significant incident.'
CityMan
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I don’t think this stat is true. I think recorded incidents increased by that amount, because it started gaining so much press attention. Players standing up against it has risen the awareness and attention to the situation.
GoatBoy
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and they throw mud at Italy
justice12345
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Whites supremacy think they rule the world fifa know what to do about this but they are white too but feel happy in the corner... What a brainless white snow monkey thinking they are better in color than black while their skin stinks and burn in the sun I don't care who this folks are..
PrinceParis
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Italy like those are rookie numbers
Hala_Madrid090
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These white extremists must be stopped because they are not allowed to be football fans
surrenerrus
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Racism has no place in football. F off racist fans.