‘RED LINE HAS BEEN CROSSED’
The Carling Cup tie at St Andrew’s erupted into violence when Birmingham fans, having seen their side win 2-1, ran onto the pitch to taunt Villa fans who were locked in the away end.
The decision to place clappers on every seat at St Andrew’s in a bid to drum up the decibel level backfired on Birmingham as their fans used the folded pieces of cardboard as impromptu missiles to pelt the
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Villa. A steward finally tackled him as Grealish’s team-mates rushed to protect their skipper.
Villa boss Dean Smith stormed: “Some mindless moron has gone on the pitch and attacked Jack.
“Then you have 15,000 idiots clapping him, which doesn’t help the matter. That’s disgraceful.
“I thought the way Jack handled the whole thing was excellent. One of the lads said there was a steward looking to have a go as well.”
Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane added: “Jack could have been very, very badly hurt.”
The man, wearing a Peaky Blinders hat and a Birmingham City jacket, blew kisses towards the crowd as he was led away by stewards and was then arrested by police.
Birmingham City said in a statement: “We deplore the behaviour of the individual who committed this act and rest assured he will be banned from St Andrew’s for life.
“The club will also support any further punishment this individual may face in the eyes of the law.”
City, already braced for a points deduction over financial fair play rules, can expect at least a big FA fine.
Club officials apologised in person to Villa captain Grealish, who scored the 67th-minute winner.
A Villa statement said the club was “appalled by the disgraceful attack”.
It added: “A red line has been crossed by this cowardly on-field assault on a player, which is unprecedented in English football.
“Local rivalries are part of the fabric of the game. However, as we are sure our friends at Birmingham City would agree, to have a player’s personal safety placed under such jeopardy is a serious cause for concern for the entire football community.”
The FA said: “It is a criminal offence to enter the field of play and we will be working with the police, the relevant authorities and the club to ensure the appropriate action is taken.”