Spectator attacks Jack Grealish in sickening incident during Birmingham-Aston Villa derby

Birmingham are facing a Football Association investigation after a supporter attacked Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish in sickening scenes at St. Andrew’s.

Grealish was punched from behind by the pitch invader in the tenth minute and Birmingham have pledged to ban the spectator for life after the “deplorable” and "absolutely disgusting" incident.

The Villa attacking midfielder settled the 128th Second City derby with the 67th minute winner but all the focus was on the cowardly attack earlier in the game, which will only spark renewed scrutiny on player safety.

The spectator evaded stewards and ran onto the field to land Grealish with a punch on the side of the head, knocking the 23-year-old to the floor.

He was then escorted from the field by stewards to applause from the Tilton End, blowing kisses as he was led away. He was later arrested by West Midlands Police.

Grealish displayed admirable restraint not to react and then scored the winner to boost Villa’s hopes of securing a play-off place. Birmingham plan to issue a personal apology to Grealish after the game.

The FA will await referee Tim Robinson’s match report on Monday but an investigation is inevitable and a charge is likely for the Championship club.

The English Football League also issued a statement which read: “The EFL condemns the mindless actions of the individual who encroached on to the pitch at St Andrews on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s a situation no player should ever be faced with. In all circumstances the playing surface is for players, not supporters and those playing in the game must be able to do so safe in the knowledge they will not be subjected to this type of behaviour.

“Whilst this incident falls within the remit of the Football Association, we will work with all the relevant parties to address the issue of player and match officials safety on the pitch and ensure the appropriate action is taken.”

Four minutes in and the blue touch paper was lit with an dreadful challenge from Maikel Kieftenbeld on Grealish, with the Birmingham midfielder arguably fortunate to escape with only a caution.

The flashpoint then followed in the 10th minute, at a Villa corner, when the pitch invader ran onto the field and assaulted Grealish to spark a melee between both sets of players.

These bitter local arguments have always been spiky encounters not for the faint-hearted and this latest incident evoked memories of 2002, when a Birmingham fan confronted former Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckleman following an own goal which has gone down in folklore.

Grealish was clearly shaken but recovered to play an influential role in a game low on quality and chances, in his first appearance at St. Andrews.

He made the crucial breakthrough 23 minutes from time, advancing into the area and driving a low shot into the corner. Celebrating with the Villa fans behind the goal, he was booked by Robinson.

Conor Hourihane struck the crossbar for Villa and Birmingham substitute Craig Gardner wasted a glorious opportunity two minutes from time, but Dean Smith’s side remain unbeaten in 14 league meeting against their bitter rivals.

Villa have gone above Birmingham in the table and are now four points adrift of sixth-placed Derby County.

However, the post-match attention will all be on the disgraceful incident earlier in the game which seems certain to result in repercussions for Birmingham.

Birmingham (4-4-2): Camp, Harding, Morrison, Dean, Pedersen; Jota (Mrabti 58), Kieftenbeld, Davis (C Gardner 79), Maghoma (Mahoney 72); Adams, Jutkiewicz. Substitutes Trueman (g), Roberts, Dacres-Cogley, Vassell. Booked: Kieftenbeld, Jutkiewicz, Davis.

Villa (4-3-3): Steer; Elmohamady, Mings, Hause, Taylor; Whelan (McGinn 63) , Grealish (Bjarnason 84) Hourihane; Adomah (Green 63), Abraham, El Ghazi. Substitutes Kalinic (g), Jedinak, Kodjia, Davis. Booked: Hause, Grealish, McGinn.

Referee: Tim Robinson (West Sussex)