Last weekend, in the Second City derby, a dark moment, a blemish on the beautiful game was witnessed by millions watching Aston Villa take on Birmingham City at St Andrews.
Live on Sky Sports, Villa star midfielder Jack Grealish was attacked (video below) from behind by a Birmingham City fan encroaching on the pitch.
https://twitter.com/treasure_louis/status/1104746256314843136?s=20
He had the last laugh though, scoring the winning goal.
#AVFC LEAD!
Jack Grealish scores a well-deserved goal 👏
Watch live on Sky Sports Football or follow updates here: https://t.co/HvftpzFWLJ pic.twitter.com/GyaJFceEB2
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 10, 2019
The fan in question, Paul Mitchell, was dealt with swiftly by the courts and received a 14 week prison sentence for his unprovoked assault on Grealish.
Grealish’s goal (above) was enough to see the Villans take all three points, continuing their good form. Yet, a week on from the incident that led to Mitchell’s jailing, the spectre of what he did loomed large again – as can be seen below.
Tinpot pic.twitter.com/M7W6Ybntzo
— villareport (@villareport) March 16, 2019
Here, at Preston North End, Mitchell has been lauded as something of a hero, mocked up as Henry VIII. It is a banner bearing the unmistakeable logo/branding of the ‘Zulu Warriors’, a hooligan crew who attach themselves to Birmingham City.
Glorifying the actions of the guilty, and convicted, Mitchell is obviously the intention here. It was certainly enough to rile many, hence it being posted by the Twitter account @villareport.
It was bound to garner some measure of response, It didn’t fail in that respect. Indeed, one of those to respond was Jack Grealish himself, responding with a mic drop of a tweet (below).
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish1) March 16, 2019
Grealish’s response was both classic put-down and bound to have fans responding in their droves. It didn’t disappoint in that respect; here’s how some fans reacted.
Grealish tweets mic drop response – Villa fans react
You gotta print and frame that reply. Iconic ❤️🙌🏽
— Declan Pierce (@DecPierce) March 16, 2019
Haha they are gonna be raging at this 😂 legend UTV
— mike meakin (@mikemeakin85) March 16, 2019
🎤 😉 pic.twitter.com/2AuriEcn3S
— Beard Of The Match 🦁 (@BeardOfTheMatch) March 16, 2019
How can they give him the freedom of the city, when they know the city is ours!
— stephen rivett (@stephenrivett) March 16, 2019
He’s won mate
— Craig Taylor (@CraigTa90961607) March 16, 2019
As if we didn’t love him enough. Absolute hero 💜
— Carl (@CarlReevesAVFC) March 16, 2019
