Birmingham City have moved quickly to ensure they apologise to both Aston Villa and Jack Grealish after the deplorable act committed against him during the local derby.

Grealish was felled by a punch from behind after a so-called supporter encroached the playing area to assault him.

The shocking incident was caught clearly on camera, showing a capped thug punching him in the back of the head, from behind, before celebrating the attack as he was led from the pitch.

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Grealish got the last laugh, shrugging off the punch to go on and score the winning goal, but the clubs involved won't be able to move on from it as quickly as the player.

Birmingham were swift in their actions, issuing an apology on their club website just hours after the game concluded.

They vowed to ban the perpetrator for life, as well as work with the relevant authorities during any further action, of which there is bound to be some. They finished by adding:

"What happened has no place in football or society. Jack is a Birmingham lad and regardless of club allegiance should not have been subjected to this – there are no excuses."

The Verdict

There's no allegiances here based on the colour scarf you wear or which player's name you chant. When a thug thinks it's okay to invade the pitch and attack a player, the game is in serious trouble.

Birmingham have reacted quickly, but they had to. They had to be seen to be decisive and definite in their action, which they've been.

The attacker should never see a Birmingham game from inside the ground again and is highly likely to miss the end of the season thanks to a short stay in prison.