The Birmingham City fan who assaulted Aston Villa's Jack Grealish has been sentenced to 14 weeks in prison and handed a 10-year banning order from all football stadiums. 

Paul Mitchell, 27, has also been banned for life from attending Birmingham City games and ordered to pay £100 ($187AUD) compensation to Jack Grealish for the pain and discomfort caused by the attack.

The attack occurred over the weekend during the Championship fixture between the two fierce rivals as Mitchell found his way onto the pitch to attack Grealish from behind. 

 

The incident was one of three high profile pitch invasions over the weekend and has sparked debate over the quality of stewarding and security for footballers. 

One fan confronted Rangers captain James Tavernier in their game against Hibernian, while one supporter ran onto the pitch during Manchester United's clash with Arsenal and shoved Chris Smalling. 

Ashley Young called for greater security measures to be taken to protect players.

Young said: "It's the 3rd time a fan has gone on the pitch (this weekend), what if they are carrying something? The players will be in danger."

"It's something the FA, the Prem and FIFA have got to do something about. I don't know if it's extra stewarding or what but something has got to be done."

The Football Association also condemned the incidents that occurred over the weekend and added that they will be looking to improve matters in the future. 

A FA Spokesman said: "We will be working with the clubs, the leagues and the police to discuss what collectively needs to be done to protect players and officials on the pitch."

"In addition, we have written to both Birmingham City and Arsenal to seek their observations to examine the security measures they had in place."

While stewards could certainly be blamed for not preventing the incident, footage caught one steward getting involved with the attacks, kicking Jack Grealish during his game-winning celebration before being taken away by police.

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During court proceedings, Mitchell's lawyer had revealed the family had received threats online and had been forced to move away from the Birmingham area. 

While Grealish finished the game, scoring the winning goal for Villa, the attack could have been more serious. 

Grealish said in a statement: "I cannot help but feel how lucky I was in this incident. It could have been so much worse had the supporter has some sort of weapon."

Birmingham City also welcomed the 14-week sentence while adding they had also banned another supporter for life after the fan had sent a series of hateful tweets on social media relating to Jack Grealish and his family.