[Football] Jack Grealish

[seagulls4ever]

Has it been revealed whether the offender had previous convictions, I can’t see either way?

I thought that he might get locked up to set an example after his televised assault, although I doubt magistrates could/would say as much.

They did say as much. It's quite common that crimes which happen in the public eye attract larger sentences, for exactly this sort of reason. Following the London Riots, someone was sent to jail for stealing a bottle of water!

His defence asked for community service or a suspended prison sentence but magistrates ruled that a "message had to be sent out to fans".

The 14-week prison sentence "should be a deterrent", magistrates added.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-47523268

 

[DavidRyder]

Bet he's pleased he's got to pay Grealish some compo too!

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Someone post his Twitter page I want to see what abuse he's getting

Sent from my SM-A600FN using Tapatalk

 

[drew]

4-5 weeks tops then out on license. He has had a huge touch. Sentence will start immediately so he will be out before the end of April. I am honestly amazed. Football related incidents can roll out for years before a sentence is handed down - which is effing stressful - not knowing what the outcome of the case will be, having to report to the police station on matchdays, handing in the passport for England games etc.

The courts have obviously intended to make an example of him so rushed him through, and as a result they have basically done him a favour. This will all be behind him (apart from the 10 year FBO) in 3 and a half months...

Wasn't really rushed through though was it. He pleaded guilty so it was just a case of determining the sentence. Had he pleaded innocent then it would have been set for trial but one would suspect he realized the evidence was pretty damning!!!!

 

[BensGrandad]

Had he been in front of the idiots who sit as magistrates in Horsham he would have got a lot longer than 14 weeks.

 

[happypig]

Wasn't really rushed through though was it. He pleaded guilty so it was just a case of determining the sentence. Had he pleaded innocent then it would have been set for trial but one would suspect he realized the evidence was pretty damning!!!!

We were always told to take the view that if it was pretty certain, following reports, that a subsequent bench would still impose custody, then it wasn't in the interests of justice to delay and to imprison immediately. If the defendant's solicitor thinks it is unjust he/she can appeal to the Crown Court (will usually be heard the same/next day). They rarely do.

Had he been in front of the idiots who sit as magistrates in Horsham he would have got a lot longer than 14 weeks.

Oh lord, the village idiot has woken up.

 

[Blackadder]

Had he been in front of the idiots who sit as magistrates in Horsham he would have got a lot longer than 14 weeks.

Ooh, have you got something to tell us BG?

 

[Blues Rock DJ]

Get less for punching a copper !

 

[Official Old Man]

How come it all went to court so quickly. These things normally take months/years. I guess that the fact it was on TV he couldn't use the mistaken identity excuse.

 

[portlock seagull]

I just don’t understand our criminal justice system. Man throws weak punch at footballer with no injury caused and within 48hrs he’s jailed for effectively seven weeks or less. 17 year old near me stabs a random stranger causing life threatening injuries and all the mental scares too. Takes 3 months to get to court and the offender gets...just a suspended sentence and a security tag! Like football, our justice system is completely unfit for purpose. Bonkers really.

 

[BensGrandad]

We were always told to take the view that if it was pretty certain, following reports, that a subsequent bench would still impose custody, then it wasn't in the interests of justice to delay and to imprison immediately. If the defendant's solicitor thinks it is unjust he/she can appeal to the Crown Court (will usually be heard the same/next day). They rarely do.



Oh lord, the village idiot has woken up.

Everybody has an automatic right of appeal against a Magistrates decision to Crown Court and provided it is lodged within 21 days the hearing will be granted, they have no choice, this will be heard by a judge sitting with 2 independent magistrates. As you say the village idiot has awoke.

 

[ewe2]

As serious as this was.....I guess his and his families punishment will extend to much more than 3 months in prison ......Football grounds are libraries compared to the horrible 70 s and 80s.

 

[Acker79]

In fairness to Neville, several people have suggested points deductions and playing behind closed doors.

No, you aren't given points when someone else speeds. But there are instances of people getting into legal trouble because they were around other people committing crimes (or being accused of committing crimes). So it's not exactly unprecedented. And when we send someone to jail, there is usually a family/friends left behind who suffer when they've done nothing wrong. Punishments will always impact more than the intended target. If we're looking for an option that doesn't impact on anyone else, then we're never going to find one.

To the specific point of points deductions/closed door games punishing other fans, there are two arguments that come to my mind:

1) The club needs to be punished as a whole, because the incident occurred because the Club didn't live up to it's basic safety expectations. As people pointed out when it first happened, there was notable cheering and vocal support for the guy who ran on the pitch and punched an opponent. Perhaps those fans deserve to be suffer. So should someone try again, they're not so quick to praise them, or so that people seeking some stupid sense of kudos from his fellow fans doesn't see running on and lumping an opposing player as a quick way to it.

2) it's not, really. Not if it's a point deduction. If Brighton were deducted points, it wouldn't impact on my life beyond a little disappointment that some scrote had cost the team points, that is no more than a defeat does. The club is punished, because it makes it impacts on where they finish in the table, even it it doesn't relegate the team, it could cost the club several million in finishing places. But my life will go on the same as always.

If a game is played behind closed doors I would miss it. But I miss a lot of away games, too. There have been occasions where I've had prior engagements, family events etc. that has led to missing a match. Again, it will impact on money the club takes in, the lack of support in the stands could impact on the team if they are struggling.

 

[Eeyore]

I'd have punished him by making it compulsory to attend matches.

 

[BNthree]

The courts have obviously intended to make an example of him so rushed him through.

As he was charged battery, as well as encroaching on a football pitch, it is a summary offence so can be tried in magistrates without CPS getting involved. As he was already in police custody he went to magistrates the next day. Pretty standard stuff and no special treatment to rush it through. As he pleaded guilty straight away he can get a third off the sentence, maximum for battery is 6 months so maximum he could have got is 17 weeks. He got 14 so not that far off maximum.

 

[BNthree]

How come it all went to court so quickly. These things normally take months/years. I guess that the fact it was on TV he couldn't use the mistaken identity excuse.

Just posted with details of how come it went to court so quickly, see the post above this.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I bet he doesn't spend 14 weeks inside.

Probably 7. Will probably still lose his job (if he has one).

Still, if he's made to share a cell with a Villa fan....

 

[Triggaaar]

The courts have obviously intended to make an example of him so rushed him through, and as a result they have basically done him a favour. This will all be behind him (apart from the 10 year FBO) in 3 and a half months...

And the lifetime ban from Birmingham City FC, which I hope they stick to.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

As serious as this was.....I guess his and his families punishment will extend to much more than 3 months in prison ......Football grounds are libraries compared to the horrible 70 s and 80s.

They were libraries back then if you weren't located within the North Stand or equivalent. And, even so, I remember a handfull of Gillingham supporters 'taking' the North in the early 70s. I suspect you may have your Bovril tinted spectacles on . . .

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

And the lifetime ban from Birmingham City FC, which I hope they stick to.

Top pedantry. I forgot about that - the 10 year ban is one imposed by the courts, of course. Which means he will be able to sneak in to watch away games without too much bother after 10 years....

Incidentally, if you 'join' a club's scheme as I have done at a few clubs in the past to get away tickets will the club check a data base to ensure you don't have a ban? How does it work?