On Sunday, Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish was stunningly attacked by a Birmingham City fan, 27-year-old Paul Mitchell, who was arrested for the incident.
There were shocking scenes at Birmingham v. Aston Villa today as a pitch invader ran on and punched Aston Villa's Jack Grealish. pic.twitter.com/aIYHcNKJfK
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) March 10, 2019
On Monday after pleading guilty for the attack, Mitchell was sentenced to 14 weeks in jail and issued a 10-year banning order from all football stadiums.
BREAKING: Fan who assaulted @AVFCOfficial's Jack Grealish sentenced to 14 weeks in prison and handed a 10-year banning order from all football stadiums. #SSN pic.twitter.com/7X7G5PZ9ta
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 11, 2019
The prosecutor in the case said that Grealish “felt lasting pain” but wasn’t significantly injured due to the attack, per Express & Star.
For his part, Grealish expressed his concern over what might have occurred if his attacker had been armed.
“I cannot help but feel how lucky I was in this incident. It could have so much worse had the supporter had some sort of weapon.”
Hopefully the punishment issued in this case to Mitchell will act as a deterrent to any potential future incidents.