Brum thug punches Grealish – but hey, it’s hardly Spygate
Fears are mounting at Birmingham City about the scale of the financial penalty to be imposed after one of their fans , at their stadium, invaded the playing area and, before the Sky TV cameras, assaulted Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish. The anxiety springs from the fact that Leeds United were fined £200,000 in the matter of standing on a public footpath and looking through a wire mesh fence.
Officials at Birmingham City fear that an actual assault on an opposing player by a home fan, compounded and aggravated by a later altercation with the same player by a home steward, might be seen as many times more serious than the non-offence attributed to Leeds United. But the Football League are set to banish any such fears.
The logic being applied by anxious officials at St Andrews is that, if Leeds had bto shell out £200,000 for an ill-defined “breach of good faith”, then an actual assault perpetrated within the confines of their own stadium could be punishable by a fine well into seven or eight figures. It is not known at this point whether Bristol City are demanding a points deduction over the matter.
The Football League, however, do not appear to see common assault as anything like as serious a matter as looking through Derby County’s mesh fence, and are prepared to reassure Birmingham City accordingly. A League spokesman confirmed that out of control home fans belting opposition players cannot be blamed on the club concerned, unless that club has the postcode LS11 0ES. “We have to have a sense of proportion here”, our FL contact told us. “We checked with Derby County after the Birmingham v Villa incident, and Fwankie wasn’t upset at all. If he had been, of course we’d have taken further action. Against Leeds United. Ha!”
Life, Leeds United, the Universe & Everything 
No doubt, you saw the piece yesterday with Lampard saying he thought the figure of £200,000 was harsher than he’d demanded/expected, and that he now wants to draw a line under the business and doesn’t want to be thought of as a whinger! My own thought on the matter is that he’s like the weedy boy in your class that no one talked to, and that in terms of current management ability Bielsa is Don Revie and Lampard is Paul Sch*les!
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I’d say that’s about right mate MOT
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A few years ago, when Denis Wise (the most inappropriate surname of all time) took us to the third tier, we were deducted 12 points when morons ran on th the field when we were relegated, against Ipswich. This was for the next season and cost us promotion back to the Championship. No one was attacked, although the ref took the players off for a few minutes. Interesting to see if any consistancy with Birmingham’s upcoming sanctions when a player WAS attacked. Not holding my breath though.
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Thanks for a nice humorous post to momentarily distract me from the nerve jangling build up to tomorrows derby game Rob. I must confess to being pleasantly surprised and relieved recently that Klich wasn’t banned for 3 matches for inciting a full scale riot during the Bolton match by drenching a Bolton player in freezing cold water (I am describing the incident as Frank Lampard interpreted it Rob) Seriously, though I was amazed that the FL/FA didn’t blame Klich for everything, and in doing so, broke the habit of a lifetime.
Was also rather surprised that Bielsa didn’t give Izzy Brown a kick of the ball during the second half against Reading when we were very comfortably 3-0 up and opening up Reading at will. Surely that would have given Brown a chance to impress in a comfortable win. It does suggest that Bielsa is far from impressed with Brown as we enter the absolute business end of the season and appears to have been a gamble that, sadly, hasn’t paid off.
Everything crossed for tomorrow’s game Rob. ALAW
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Biggest game in many years and a massive chance to open up a gap. Let’s hope they can revive the spirit of 1990 and send the Blunts packing as we did that day when Gary raced through to “get one yourself, son”. It seems like only yesterday!
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Once the FL remember that Monk managed Leeds they may well throw the book at Birmingham. What a totally corrupt world we live in. Anyway,its good news about Madine missing tomorrows game but hand on heart I want them to go up too,they’ve played the best football this season apart from Leeds and they’ve suffered years in oblivion and torment just like us. I hope we stick it up them tomorrow though.
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Me too 🙏
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I think the ‘fan’ in question ought to get fine. 200,000 hours community service to be divided in two. 100,000 hours looking through a fence somewhere in Derby, whilst wearing Leeds united socks and a further 100,000 sitting on a bucket and listening to Gary Monks drivel about how he was the catalyst behind Leeds united’s resurgence.
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Quite right too 😆
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“Get one yerself son” Wow! I’ve got the end of season video(yes video) of that somewhere around the house. 4-0 as I recall and a real blood and thunder encounter.
Great line re Fwankie and Mr ‘points deduction’ Lansdown.
Nowt against the blades per se and if we go up then I hope they do as well but we need a result tomorrow. Also hope Preston take 6th from Direby, the twigs and the bobbins.MOT.
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That’d be grand, everything flows from what would be a crucial sin tomorrow.
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I take it you meant crucial ‘win’ Rob LOL. Although Crucial Sin could be a lost Black Sabbath track you were thinking of.
Either way hope yerself and anyone who goes tomorrow has a great day and celebrates the result with some crucial ales.MOT.
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Aye, crucial win, that was it. Freudian slip there 😉
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Quality article as always Rob.
We know we are the persicuted but we as supporters have to rise above th EFL, hard and frustrating I know, keep this news at the forefront in our quest to pull ourselves from this corrupt organisation, long time suffering Leeds fan, at the end of the day we have to win to secure our position at the top….or even 2nd, let’s get rid once and for all this stigma of a second class club in a 10th rate beuatiic system that needs us as their survival…OnOnOn….
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I’d certainly take second right now. But to win the league would be brilliant and, quite frankly, I think we deserve it. Team of the season (in my unbiased opinion). MOT
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