Poll: Is enough done to reduce violence in football?

The warning by British Transport Police (BTP) Chief Constable Paul Crowther came ahead of a summit organised to determine the scale of the problem, which has come under scrutiny in recent months following a number of high-profile incidents.

The latest figures for this football season show that BTP has recorded 630 soccer-related incidents so far, including a number with a racial element.

Mr Crowther told the Press Association: "Sadly this type of casual thuggery is occurring just about on a weekly basis on our trains, with a sizeable minority who are behaving in a threatening, loud and sometimes racist way to the great terror of people who are using the system to get about and do their day-to-day business."

He said the impact on ordinary passengers is "unacceptable", adding: " We are in danger of saying those types of experiences are OK.

"Is that the sort of society we really want? I don't think it is. We haven't solved this type of behaviour and we need to work together to change it.

"We are saying 'Why do people think this is acceptable on trains?' You don't see this sort of behaviour on an aeroplane, for example."

Police believe the scale of football-related crime on the transport network may be higher than the figures show.

Mr Crowther said: "We think it is under-reported and we think that might be because people are intimidated or frightened."

He said the problem was a "very complex issue" and required a cultural change.

"What I am not looking for is more of the same," he said. "I don't think it is an issue we can arrest our way out of."

Representatives from football, police and other organisations, as well as those affected by football thuggery, are attending the summit, which is the first of its kind.

In February a storm erupted after Chelsea supporters were filmed allegedly singing racist chants as a black man was prevented from boarding a train in Paris.