Pitch Invasions and other fan transgressions
This thread has been created for a discussion of the events of 9/10 March, such as the assault on Jack Grealish. I think people might want to discuss it further, the outcomes of the court cases, and any propoals that might be put forward by the EFL and so on. The politicians have had their say, too, so there may be some interminable committee set up.
If we don't have a separate thread, this topic will be lost as the weekend's match thread fades and dies.
Posts will be moved across ;ok
If we don't have a separate thread, this topic will be lost as the weekend's match thread fades and dies.
Posts will be moved across ;ok
Comments
Terrible stuff.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-47523268
Not only did he encroach but he pshyically assualted a player, if you assault a rail guard, bus driver, doctor, nurse or frankly any other public servant, I think the potential jail sentence and associated financial penalties are much higher
I frankly do not know what the max is, but given the clear and obvious evidence of what this idiot did and assuming that he is being treated somewhat leniently, I struggle to see what you have to do to deserve the max.
Fines these days are, I think, linked to ability to pay. I'll check that though - it might be only for certain offences.
The guidelines on sentencing say that the fine for a first time offender pleading not guilty should usually not exceed 75 per cent of the maximum fine (but can be lower, obvs).
Obviously idont know the guys situation, but £350 can be the difference between being able to pay your mortgage or not
And 14 weeks seems low, but I see it as 3.5 months which seems about fair if you actually look what he did..... not to mention that the guys has either lost 3.5 months of pay or more likely he's just been flat out sacked
The guys is a thug, but I've seen a lot worse
He could be out in seven weeks with good behaviour.
Did you see the Birmingham steward who was taken away by police after kicking Grealish when he jumped into the crows after scoring...
grown men acting like Children, not great for the beautiful game...
I would have added some penalty for the assault, he approached from behind and delivered a sucker punch to the side of the head - it was as nasty as it was cowardly
Be interesting to see what is handed down to the bloke who assulted Smalling at the Utd game, he ran on like the idiot he is but delivered a shove that would have hardly made a weeble wobble.
Under the sentencing guidelines there's nothing in the factors to be taken into consideration (pages 24 and 25) about the direction from which the assault was made.
https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Assault_definitive_guideline_-_Crown_Court.pdf
If judges give a tougher sentence than the offence warrants then the defence lawyers will appeal - all at the taxpayers' expense.
It sets the bar that getting onto the pitch, which the bloke probably thought was a ‘bit of a laugh’, & engaging in any violent act with a player will bring a minimum of a 3 month period. He probs thought ‘I’ll give that Grealish a good clip round the ear’. Bet he never even considered he’d end up in prison.
Maybe people feel that is light, but I think that is quite a strong message given he probably had no idea the magnitude of the consequences of what he did. Many people can’t afford to lose 3 months & whilst he may have been unemployed, to other working people that could be career ending & also it’s going to influence his ability to seek work between now & the summer.
They need to now do similar things for racist abuse. Have fans been imprisoned for abusive racial language before? What happened to that guy at the Chelsea game with the Sterling abuse?
One of the Chelsea fans was interviewed by the Mail and claimed they called Sterling a "Manc" something not a "black" something.
I obviously do not know the full circumstances but at face value, the £350 fine appears to be not much more than a token amount, i understand that the financial impact given his newly acquired criminal record and job prospects is far greater than the fine itself so may be meaningful to this guy but, to my mind, it does not post a meaningful message of deterance.
I was actually quite shocked at this, idiots have run onto the pitch for a bit of laugh playing up to the crowd for decades (at least he kept his clothes on) but this is the first time that I can remember a real attack on a player.