Superintendent Rod Wilson today claimed his police were now scared to take shifts at A-League games because of the behaviour of football fans.

But statistics appear to contradict his claims.

In what is generally considered the most heated game in A-League history - the November 2007 clash between Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC - police branded fans "abysmal" and used capsicum spray on them.

But there were only five evictions from the packed stadium and no arrests among the near-32,000 fans.

At the 2010 Melbourne Cup, there were 11 arrests and 280 evictions. Superintendent Wilson said then that was "...just a handful - we hope this trend continues."

At the 2010 AFL Grand Final rematch, there were also 11 evictions and four arrests which Superintendent Wilson said at the time was "...pretty good."

And on the first day of the 2010 Boxing Day Test, police were delighted to report there were only 37 evictions and five arrests as it was down from 110 the year before.

However at the February 2008 One Day International between Australia and India in Melbourne, 189 people were evicted and at least 16 charged.

Despite that, Victoria Police said they were "generally happy" and the figures were "...not out of the ordinary."

A story in Melbourne's Herald-Sun by AFL-supporter Paul Tatnell - who earlier this week wrote about being kinghit at Melbourne's Heart v Victory derby - claimed police had branded football fans the worst of all codes.

However the published quotes from Supt Wilson don't appear to back that claim, and Supt Wilson himself admitted it was only a small portion of the fans that concerned them.

"We are concerned about the attitude of some supporters towards police, they're certainly showing violent tendencies," he said.

"Police are being assaulted, police are being reluctant to work the venues because of the behaviour of some elements  - and I stress some elements - of the crowd.

"There is resisting arrest, there is generally just a belligerent and poor attitude towards police, and police have been assaulted by fans and there are charges pending in those cases."

Today the FFA hit back and CEO Ben Buckley defended fans and paid tribute to their importance to matches.

“Our fans are passionate and loud and they express themselves by getting behind their team and that is what makes football stand out from the other sports and that is what makes football a great spectacle on and off the pitch,” Buckley said.

“They sing and they chant and they cheer their team and they put time into preparing their banners and coming up with songs - that is an essential part of the football culture.

“Melbourne Victory supporters have set records by supporting their club in huge numbers and have contributed to the colour and the spectacle that makes football an amazing experience.

“The overwhelming majority of them are well behaved and I reject suggestion that our eviction levels are greater than other sports.

“Occasionally, like in every sport, some people cross the line and we have a zero tolerance policy on anti-social behavior but any incidents so far have involved only a very minor number of people over the life of the Hyundai A-League.

“Melbourne Victory called the meeting with Victorian Police for Monday and we aim to work with them and all other parties to resolve any issues .”