Chief Constable Giles York said that fans, both home and away, are becoming increasingly intolerant towards verbal and social media abuse because of a person’s disability, race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.
He confirmed that away fans had started to report incidents in increasing numbers to club staff and stewards.
Mr York told The Argus, “We work really closely in following up on complaints, whether around racism, whether around criticism of LGBT. What we are beginning to see now is that the fans themselves are becoming intolerant.
“It’s not just the stewards reporting this behaviour, it’s the fans reporting as well and even the fans visiting Brighton are beginning to report the behaviour.”
Chief Constable York's comments came as Albion fan George Reynolds was jailed for eight weeks on Friday for making racist remarks at the game against Tottenham Hotspur in October.