Frank Lampard praises Jack Grealish's reaction after fan attack | OneFootball

Derby County manager Frank Lampard expressed worry over player safety following the Jack Grealish attack over the weekend.

While the Birmingham fan has been jailed for 14 weeks and handed a small fine of £100, Lampard has called for larger safety measures to be put in place.

“Yes, it is a concern,” he said. “We have to make sure we put player safety at the top of the list.

“Certainly, I think security can be looked at, to try to stop it, but when you are trying to stop a crowd of 30,000, just to stop one person is difficult.

“Then the deterrent has to be big. You shouldn’t be allowed to watch a football match again live if you do that.

“You should serve a solid punishment, because it’s not just going on the pitch and running around – it’s an attack on a player, so we should be very, very strict on it.

“It was a terrible incident, everybody could see that.”

The Chelsea legend also commended Grealish on his professional reaction to the incident.

“I thought Grealish handled it very well. It was a complete blind hit, a free hit, which is terrible, and he didn’t have a chance to react.

“But his demeanour afterwards was spot on, and how it was dealt with by everybody around it.”

Lampard then recalled a 2007 incident when a Tottenham fan attacked him during an FA Cup quarter-final replay at White Hart Lane.

“It is what it is. He swung and missed, fortunately, with my one.

“It’s not nice. It’s an unfortunate part of being in the public eye or playing a sport in public. It shouldn’t be.

“I hope players aren’t playing with any fear of this thing happening again but now we’re all aware of it – and have been for many years – it is what it is.

“I didn’t like the experience but you have to deal with it.

“The stamping it out thing is how you deal with it and how strong we are, and I think we are very lenient, sometimes.”