The idiot football yob who ran onto the pitch and punched a player is out of prison - and he said it was the 'the best month of his life'.
Jobless Paul Mitchell was jailed for 14 weeks following the shocking attack on Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish during the Second City derby at St Andrew’s on March 10.
The 27-year-old later admitted charges of assault and encroachment onto the pitch and was sentenced at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court the following day, Birmingham Live reports .
He was released from jail last Monday, four weeks into his prison term.
Mitchell refused to apologise to Grealish for the attack and added: “It was the best month of my life.”
He said: “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.”
Read more of today's top stories
Asked whether he regretted his actions, he said: “I’m not prepared to discuss that. I’m not apologising for nothing.”
His local pub has told him he 'would not be welcome'.
A member of staff at the New Rose and Crown, Mitchell’s nearest pub, said: “Paul Mitchell used to drink here until just before it happened.
“We haven’t seen him since, but he probably wouldn’t be welcome. We have a lot of football fans here.”
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, confirmed she had seen Mitchell in the building in the last week.
“He is out of prison,” she said.
“I don’t want to comment on what he did.”
The shocking incident was captured on live TV during the Championship clash between Villa and Blues last month.
Ex-pub manager Mitchell sprinted onto the pitch in the tenth minute of the match and punched the midfielder in the head before being surrounded by stewards.
Grealish, who was knocked to the ground after Mitchell swung the punch from behind, went on to score the only goal of the game.
Mitchell appeared before magistrates the next day, where he was jailed and ordered to pay £100 compensation to the footballer.
Chair of the bench Alison Fisher told him: “This was an unprovoked attack on a footballer who was simply doing his job.
“It was a single punch but with enough force to knock Mr Grealish to the ground. This type of behaviour is unacceptable, a view shared by your own football club, who have banned you for life.
“Mr Grealish has stated he was shocked and scared and feels lucky it wasn’t worse. More than 23,000 fans were in attendance and the incident was broadcast live across the country.
“Due to the nature of this incident, the court must send a message to fans that players like Jack Grealish are entitled to protection.
“This offence is so serious, we are sending you to prison for 14 weeks, and we are giving you a football banning order for ten years.”
