Football supporter who punched Grealish on the pitch found dead

The football fan who ran onto the pitch to punch Jack Grealish has been found dead at an address in Birmingham. Paul Mitchell, 32, was described as having the ‘kindest heart’ amongst the tributes.

His cousin, Lucy Mitchell, told The Sun: “Paul absolutely adored his three children.

“He always had a smile on his face no matter what. He had the kindest heart. He is sadly going to be missed by a lot of people.

“He was a very popular man. It won’t be the same without him here anymore.”

His mother, Debbie Drew, added: “Our family loved him so much.”

Support also poured in online for the Brummie, with Birmingham fans united in sending condolences to Mitchell’s friends and family. One fan wrote: “RIP Paul Mitchell! I’m very sorry about what I said about you, and sorry what you’re family are going through right now. Hope you’re family makes you proud with what they do in their lives.”

Another added: “Rip Paul Mitchell, football is everything, sad to see a fellow football fan taken so soon.”

The Birmingham City fan was arrested in 2019 after running onto the St Andrews pitch and punching Jack Grealish, who was Aston Villa captain at the time, during their derby. The fan was then dragged away by stewards and arrested.

Mitchell was then jailed for 14 weeks, though only had to serve four of those weeks – a time he revealed that he enjoyed. Speaking after his release, he said: “It was the best month of my life. I’m out of prison. I was released on Monday. Of course, I’m glad to be out. It was the best month of my life. It was hard being away from my family but everything was good.”