Pep worried over fan attacks on players

PEP Guardiola has raised safety concerns after a fan ran onto the pitch and attacked a player over the weekend.

However, the Blues boss says he doesn’t not believe clubs should be punished for the actions of individual supporters.

A fan ran onto the pitch and punched Aston Villa star Jack Grealish during the ‘Second City’ derby and was yesterday jailed for 14 weeks for assault.

And asked if incidents like the one at St Andrews made him fear for his players’ safety, he said: “Not just about my players, players in general.

“Hopefully it won’t happen again, maybe it’s a problem in society, not just in the football.

”Of course, the people were involved at Birmingham but it can happen here too. We must work from the beginning on the culture, make better human beings, that kind of thing.”

There have been calls for Birmingham themselves to be punished, with some even suggesting a points deduction, but Guardiola was adamant the responsibility lies with the individual and that players and managers should not have their work undone by such individuals.

“I think it’s a question for one person, Birmingham are not guilty of anything” he said.

“He’s the one who is responsible, not the club.

“Sometimes we misunderstand where we need to keep the focus. The clubs try but you cannot control absolutely everything, the behaviour of the people on the streets.