The pitch invader was arrested after attacking Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish (Reuters photo)Birmingham City have been fined 42,500 pounds ($53,000) and warned by the Football Association after one of their fans ran onto the pitch and punched Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish during a Championship (second tier) match in March.
Paul Mitchell, 27, pleaded guilty at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court to charges of assault and encroachment and was jailed for 14 weeks.
Mitchell was also banned from attending any football matches in the UK for 10 years and banned for life by Birmingham.
“The club… was found to have failed to ensure that its spectator… conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and/or refrained from improper and/or violent behaviour and/or refrained from encroaching onto the pitch area,” the FA said in a statement on its website.
Grealish was punched in the side of the face by Mitchell during Villa’s 1-0 win at St Andrew’s. The 24-year-old fell to the turf as a steward and Villa players caught Mitchell and dragged him away.
