Lancashire Police spent almost six times more money on policing football games last season than the clubs across the county contributed to the cost.

Recent data provided by Lancashire Constabulary found its average spend for each league game was £23,541, 598 per cent higher than the clubs' contributions of £3,939 per game.

The total amount paid to the police in the 2023/24 season by clubs totalled £705,232 – with money arriving from Burnley, Blackburn Rovers, Accrington Stanley, Morecambe, AFC Fylde, Blackpool, and Preston North End.

Clubs currently only must pay for the costs incurred inside their ground or on their property, with the taxpayer footing the rest of the bill, which typically involves an increased presence in town and city centres and public streets around stadiums.

The issue remains a sore spot for police and in 2019, Lancashire’s police and crime commissioner Clive Grunshaw stated clubs should fork out more to maintain order at their fixtures.

Speaking at the time, Mr Grunshaw said: “Fans expect to feel safe on their way in and out of grounds and this is often where trouble can flare up.

“Football clubs last year generated record amounts with Premier League clubs enjoying over £5 billion in revenue.

"Some of these record profits should be directed towards making sure fans and the wider public are safe in and around football grounds.”

Over the last eight seasons, Burnley FC has spent more than £1 million on policing games, and in 2022/23 season the total amount given to support police was £174,499, which covered just four per cent of the total policing budget.

During this season the club generated £11.2 million for the year, excluding the sales raised from transfers, as it gained promotion to the Premier League.

The club has in this time been one of the worst in England for football-related arrests, with 110 made between 2019 and 2023.

Blackburn Rovers, East Lancashire's other prominent team, contributed a bit more at £186,762, though this still covered only a small fraction of the total cost of policing their games.

Raising £21 million during this season, meaning the money given to police does not total even one per cent of total earnings.

Fans of Rovers were arrested half as much as their noisy neighbours, 60 times, with 24 of those due to public disorder.