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BreakingNews.ie
15-07-2025
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Man United fan admits ‘slap' assault on Man City's Jack Grealish
A football fan admitted assaulting Man City and England star Jack Grealish by slapping his face after the footballer insulted him, he claimed. Alfie Holt (20) pleaded guilty to a single count of assault on Grealish, who he said had called him a 'little ugly wanker', after the Manchester Derby in April, Manchester Magistrates' Court heard. Advertisement Holt, a Manchester United season ticket holder in the Stretford End, was also given a three-year Football Banning Order and was fined £120 (€138), with £85 costs and a surcharge of £48. The defendant told the court: 'I did not expect him to say what he said to me and I have reacted. I regret it. That's it.' Shazia Aslam, prosecuting, told the court Grealish was leaving the field after the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford, which was broadcast on Sky TV with a sell-out crowd and was always a 'contentious affair.' 'Both sets of fans were very vocal, shouting abusive comments to rival players,' Ms Aslam said. Advertisement The court heard that as players left the field, heading for the tunnel, Holt stood very close by, shouting abuse at Man City players. 'As the complainant, Jack Grealish, a Man City player, enters the tunnel area, he hears the defendant shouting comments towards him. He turns and walks towards him. Both have an exchange of words. 'As the complainant walks away, the defendant slaps the complainant across the face. There was no injury. He was arrested outside the stadium.' In a witness statement, Grealish told police he could not hear what the defendant was shouting due to the crowd noise, so he walked towards him and tried to engage in conversation and leaned in to speak to the defendant. Advertisement He was still unable to hear, so he moved to walk away when he was slapped. Alfie Holt admitted assault to Jack Grealish as he appeared in the dock at Manchester Magistrates' Court (Danny Lawson PA) After his arrest, Holt told police he had been drinking before the game 'in town' and went to the match with his father. He told police he was shouting abuse at Man City players, including Phil Foden, who ignored him. He then shouted, 'Knobhead' at Grealish, who reacted and a 'verbal altercation took place,' the court heard. Holt told police Grealish said to him: 'You little, ugly wanker,' and he 'flipped' and reached out and slapped the footballer. Advertisement Magistrates were shown a brief clip of the incident, which had no sound. Ms Aslam added: 'The defendant uses force against a player. Players are extremely vulnerable to this sort of conduct and need to be protected.' Melanie Winstantley, defending, said Holt had no previous convictions and had never been arrested before, so the incident was completely out of character for him. His Man United season ticket, which he has had for 12 years, had already been revoked, which is a 'significant punishment' to him. Advertisement She added: 'He's admitted what he's done, he's owned what he's done. It's a very minor assault.' Ms Winstanley also said Grealish had 'doubled back' after going into the tunnel to speak to Holt. She added: 'He didn't have to do that. It's not unusual for players and fans to engage in banter at football matches. I'm not trying to excuse the behaviour.' Passing sentence, chairwoman of the magistrates' bench Jill Hodges told the defendant she accepted Holt had pleaded guilty and he appeared to regret his actions, but there must be 'punishment and deterrence' for such behaviour. The court heard fines cannot be deducted from Holt's Personal Independence Payments, so his parents, who he lives with, have agreed to pay them in full within 28 days.
Daily Mirror
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Manchester United fans top the table for bad behaviour as Premier League arrests confirmed
The figures for arrests during the Premier League across the last two seasons have been released - and no stadium has seen more arrests than Manchester United's Old Trafford Premier League giants Manchester United are finally back on top of the league - the league for bad behaviour! The club's old Trafford ground saw more arrests for crowd trouble than any other Premier League club. United accounts for 12 per cent of all arrests at the 20 Premier League grounds for alcohol-related offences, Class A drug offences, violent disorder offences and arrests for possessing flares or throwing them and for throwing missiles. There were 75 arrests at Manchester United 's Old Trafford ground for all offences during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons compared to just seven at Brentford - the lowest in the league. The arrest rate at United - who have the highest average crowd in the league - is more than double the league average of 31 per ground over the two seasons. Just last month (April) Manchester United fan Alfie Holt, 20, was arrested and charged at Old Trafford after slapping Manchester City player Jack Grealish. He has since been banned from the ground. There was a mass brawl in the Old Trafford stands in January (2025) when United beat Rangers in the Europa League and in March last year (2023) there was more brawling in during the Europa League tie with Spanish club Real Betis. The club's fans have had little to cheer about since its heyday under Sir Alex Ferguson when it won 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions League titles during his 26-year reign. Successive managers since his retirement in 2013 including David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Erik ten Haag and current boss Ruben Amorim have failed to return success to the club on the pitch. Even when they were riding high the club courted controversy when star player Eric Cantona pleaded guilty to assaulting a Crystal Palace fan in 1995 with a Kung Fu kick and a volley of punches after being sent off. West Ham has the second worst record for trouble with 60 arrests followed by Manchester City in third place on 59 arrests, Arsenal fourth on 47 and Newcastle United fifth on 46. Home Office figures for arrests for the two seasons were analysed by the betting tips subscription service TipMan Tips. Spokesman Fraser Bricknell said: 'These figures show that criminal behaviour is a prevalent issue across all the Premier League clubs. 'They highlight the need for a police presence at football matches. The fear is however that many more people are getting away with criminal acts such as drug posession, carrying flares and throwing missiles at stadiums.' Chelsea has the sixth worst record on 38 arrests followed by Everton in seventh place on 36, Spurs eighth on 31, Nottingham Forest ninth on 29 and Liverpool tenth on 28. Leicester City came eleventh on 27 followed by Crystal Palace in twelfth place on 26 arrests, Aston Villa thirteenth on 23, Southampton fourteenth on 20 and Wolves fifteenth on 18. Brighton came sixteenth on 16 arrests with Fulham seventeenth on 13, Ipswich eighteenth on 12, Bournemouth nineteenth on 10 and Brentford bottom of the table with just seven arrests - the lowest in the league. Total number of arrests at Premier League grounds by club during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons for alcohol, pyrotechnic, missile, Class A drug, violence and missile-related offences: Manchester City - 59 Arsenal - 47 Newcastle United - 46 Chelsea - 38 Everton - 36 Tottenham Hotspur - 31 Nottingham Forest - 29 Liverpool - 28 Leicester City - 27 Crystal Palace - 26 Aston Villa - 23 Southampton - 20 Wolverhampton Wanderers - 18 Brighton - 16 Fulham - 13 Ipswich - 12 Bournemouth - 10 Brentford - 7 Article continues below Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
