Football: A fan runs on the field and hits a player in the English football derby

A spectator ran on the pitch and punched Jack Grealish, captain of Aston Villa, during a derby match in Birmingham City today.

The incident occurred less than 10 minutes after the start of the second – tier championship match in central England, when Grealish was in Birmingham 's penalty box. The fan ran behind Grealish and swung his right arm to the midfield, hitting him on the side of his head.

The intruder was quickly mastered by a stadium security officer while several other Villa players rushed to confront him. He was taken away by the police, kisses to the crowd as he left before being arrested.

Grealish produced the ideal answer by scoring the goal of the second period which allowed Villa to impose 1-0. But he was reserved to jump in the stands and celebrate with visiting Villa fans.

The organizer of the competition said that he "condemned the insane actions" of the man who had attacked Grealish. "It's a situation that no player should be facing," said the English Football League in a statement.

"In all circumstances, the playing surface is for the players, not the fans, and those who play must be able to do so while being sure that they are not subject to this type of behavior.

"Although this incident is under the jurisdiction of the Football Association, we will work with all parties concerned to resolve the issue of player safety and match officials in the field and to ensure that appropriate action is taken. "

The attack followed a number of large-scale incidents recently reported of crowd disturbances at Scottish football north of the border.

In the 1-1 draw between the Rangers and Hibernian on Friday night, Rangers captain James Tavernier found himself face to face with a Hibernian supporter who left the podium in a match played Friday. evening. The previous weekend, a glass bottle had been launched from the same section of the stadium while Celtic winger Scott Sinclair was ready to take a corner during a match at Hibernian.

– AP