Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish raises over £55,000 for NHS workers after auctioning off shirt he wore when assaulted by a Birmingham fan in last season’s derby – as he makes up for attending lockdown party in March
- Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has raised over £55,000 for the NHS workers
- Grealish raffled off the shirt he wore when he was attacked by a Birmingham fan
- He would go on to score the winning goal in the controversial Second City derby
- The funds raised will go towards NHS Charities Together to help fight Covid-19
Jack Grealish has raised over £55,000 for the NHS after raffling off his match-worn shirt from Aston Villa‘s controversial clash with rivals Birmingham last season.
The Villa captain struck the only goal in the Second City derby last March – moments after he was attacked on the pitch by a Birmingham fan at St Andrew’s – in one of the most notorious games of the 2018-19 Championship campaign, which Villa ended with promotion through the play-offs.
A man was subsequently jailed for 14 weeks for the attack on Grealish in that match, with the Villa captain responding to the incident by sealing a famous victory for this team.
Jack Grealish has raised over £55,000 for the NHS after raffling off one of his shirts
The Aston Villa captain auctioned off the shirt he wore in the derby win over rivals Birmingham
Grealish has auctioned off the famous No 10 shirt with all proceeds going to NHS Charities Together following the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Over 3,600 fans paid £10 for the chance to win the shirt before Grealish selected the winner on Sunday evening.
He said on his JustGiving page: ‘I want to thank every single person that entered the raffle! Together we have managed to raise over £55,000!
‘I will be be leaving the page open and you are welcome to continue to donate. Once again thank you to everyone who entered the raffle, your donations are going to help our NHS staff, volunteers and patients impacted by COVID-19.’
Grealish wore the shirt when he scored the winner against Birmingham in 2019
Grealish was attacked by a Birmingham fan during the game, moments before he scored
Over 3,600 fans paid £10 for the chance to win the shirt before Grealish selected the winner
The goodwill gesture comes weeks after Grealish broke government lockdown rules to attend a late-night party at the flat of former team-mate Ross McCormack.
Grealish was pictured after leaving a penthouse apartment, where he crashed his £70,000 Range Rover and damaged two parked cars, and he has since issued a apology on social media.
Last weekend, Villa announced that their squad had agreed to a 25 per cent wage deferral for four months, with football on hold since last month due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The club are not making use of the government-led furlough scheme, with all non-playing staff continuing to be paid in full.