Greater Manchester Police issue statement on Manchester Derby day arrests at Old Trafford

Manchester United suffered a frustrating 1-0 defeat against Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday as Erling Haaland scored the only goal of the latest derby.

Michael Carrick’s side believed Haaland’s effort would be ruled out for offside, with the assistant referee initially raising his flag.

However, the decision was overturned following a VAR review, allowing City to claim all three points and leave United empty-handed despite the contentious nature of the winner.

Refereeing body Pro Ref has since admitted that an “error of judgement” was made during the review, with VAR Matt Donohue and assistant VAR Blake Antrobus not appointed for the following round of Premier League fixtures.

The controversy on the pitch was not the only major talking point to emerge from a particularly eventful afternoon at Old Trafford.

Manchester Evening News has reported that Greater Manchester Police have now confirmed that 17 arrests were made across derby day for a range of suspected offences, including assault, public order offences and tragedy chanting.

GMP has not released a complete breakdown of the arrests or revealed precisely where each incident took place.

The policing operation also had to account for a major supporter protest before kick-off, organised by United fan group The 1958 in response to the club’s controversial measures intended to tackle ticket touting.

Police initially estimated that approximately 500 supporters had gathered at the Bishop Blaize pub, although more joined as the demonstration moved down Sir Matt Busby Way towards Old Trafford.

Live Facial Recognition technology was also deployed in and around the stadium throughout the day.

According to GMP, the technology identified an individual wanted in connection with suspected domestic abuse offences. That person was subsequently arrested and taken into custody.

Chief Inspector Gareth Firth, from GMP’s Specialist Operations Unit, acknowledged that the number of arrests was higher than officers would ordinarily expect for the Manchester derby.

However, he said the figure reflected the “proactive approach” taken by officers to identify incidents and intervene before they could escalate.

Firth also confirmed that police had worked alongside Manchester United staff throughout the operation, describing the fixture as particularly busy because of the planned protest before kick-off.

Despite the unusually high arrest total, GMP thanked the overwhelming majority of supporters who attended the match responsibly and helped ensure the wider event passed safely.

Police have not suggested that the pre-match protest itself was responsible for any specific number of the arrests made during the day.