Football's police lead for England and Wales has told the BBC that disorder at English football grounds will continue to rise if clubs fail to cover policing costs.
Deputy chief constable Mark Roberts, of South Yorkshire Police, delivered his warning after a pitch invasion marred the aftermath of after Wigan's FA Cup win over Manchester City on Monday, with a fan confronting City's Sergio Aguero.
Police figures show a growth in incidents including pitch encroachments, the use of pyrotechnics at matches and assaults on club staff.
Roberts said clubs were "getting richer but cutting costs," with the consequent reduction in police officer numbers increasing the risk of disorder.
"We have fewer police officers in football grounds -- clubs are cutting costs for policing and backfilling with stewards who don't have the same authority as the police," he said.
"Just when football is about to secure another multi-billion-pound TV deal, there is a bad combination of clubs getting richer but cutting costs, and police forces cannot subsidise football."
Government figures for last year showed an increase in the number of pitch invasions but a fall in overall arrests at games, while the number of football banning orders issued was down.
However, data compiled by police forces for the top five leagues in England, reported by the BBC, reveals a rise in disorder both inside and outside grounds.
The Premier League said there had been a "dramatic fall" in crowd disorder at football over the past 30 years, adding in a statement to the BBC: "While we share the police's concerns at the slight increase in matchday incidents recorded so far this season, we are working with those police forces to eradicate this from Premier League matches.
"In general, the reduction in police presence inside Premier League stadiums has been at the request of police forces themselves, who are keen to see stewards take more responsibility in the stands."
The English Football League (EFL) said it "will never be complacent in this area and is, of course, concerned about the potential for disorder inside our stadiums."