In the early part of a game between local rivals Aston Villa and Birmingham – a derby – as security dragged a fan off the field, he gestured to the crowd like a Latin dictator celebrating a Pyrrhic victory over America. Laying on the ground clutching his ear was Villa’s Jack Grealish.
That the supporter appeared visibly drunk only heightened the lethargic response of on site officials. That the man didn’t sucker punch anyone else is evidence of the inherently lazy nature of the English.
That on the same day another fan, in another game, in another city ran onto another pitch explains why the stadiums of the 1980s featured cages around swaths of seating.
Villa won the game, 1-0. Grealish scored the only goal.