The Premier League’s Rudest Fans Ranked
UK football fans, also known as soccer fans in the US, have gained notoriety for their humor, banter, and catchy songs and chants. However, their reputation for politeness has never been a strong point.
Attending any football match in the country, one can almost guarantee being greeted with a barrage of profanities, often directed at the referee, particularly in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, some fan bases are notorious for their foul language, surpassing others in their proficiency at turning the air blue. So, which teams’ fans take the lead in the league of curses?
Here at TalkingBets, we analyzed 100 posts and comments across the Subreddits dedicated to each Premier League club to determine which fanbase displayed the rudest behavior. Prepare for the findings.
Who Holds the Title of the Most Profane Premier League Fanbase?
Using percentages, we assessed the contribution of each club’s online supporters to the overall tally of swear words found on Premier League Subreddits. The commitment to this cause is truly remarkable. Here’s what we discovered: Liverpool fans claimed the top spot in our profanity league, responsible for 14.80 percent of the swearing attributed to PL teams. In just 100 posts and comments from Liverpool supporters, we encountered a staggering 457 instances of profanity.
As for the reasons behind this outcome, we wouldn’t dare speculate. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Reds fans are among those who pay the highest prices for matchday essentials. On average, tickets cost a jaw-dropping £46 per person, with an additional £7.50 required to cover the cost of a pie and a pint, according to our Premier League matchday calculator.
Completing the Premier League’s “top six” in terms of foul-mouthed offenders are the following fanbases: Newcastle United, Manchester United, Tottenham, Arsenal, and Chelsea. They accounted for 12.67 percent, 10.85 percent, 9.46 percent, 8.52 percent, and 7.13 percent of the profanity, respectively.
Interestingly, Burnley emerged at the bottom of the list, with a mere 14 instances of profanity, contributing only 0.45 percent of the overall count. Who would have guessed that the terraces of Turf Moor were filled with such polite fans? To further examine the language used, we compiled a list of the most frequently employed words, both across the league and specific to each team.
The results are in, and unsurprisingly, the top spot goes to the word “f**king,” having been utilized more than any other profanity. It appeared a grand total of 1,033 times, accounting for 33 percent of all curses.
Which other impolite words made it onto the most-used list? Once again, it comes as no surprise that “st” secured second place, with 859 mentions, while “fk” completed the top three with 755 instances. Examining individual fanbases, Manchester United fans showed a preference for the word “f**king,” which accounted for 34 percent of their curses.
Interestingly, this particular word was also the favorite choice of profanity for 13 other Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, Everton, Aston Villa, and West Ham United. On the other hand, Manchester City fans displayed a more diverse range of profanities, with “fk” and “fking” sharing the spotlight.
Furthermore, “s**t” proved to be a popular selection, taking the top spot among supporters of several southern teams such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Southampton, and Crystal Palace.