Dalian Robert Atkinson (21 March 1968 – 15 August 2016) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a striker. During his club football career, he played in England for Ipswich Town,

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

and

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, winning the

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

at Villa in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

where he also played in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. He also played in Spain for

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

, in France for

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, in Turkey for Fenerbahçe, in Saudi Arabia for

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

, and in South Korea for Daejeon Hana Citizen and

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Jeonbuk have won the K League a record nine times, including ...

. He was capped once at England B level, scoring a goal in that single appearance. Atkinson died on 15 August 2016. He was near his father's house in

Trench A trench is a type of digging, excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale (landform), swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or trapping ...

Telford Telford () is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern b ...

, where he had grown up. Officers of

West Mercia Police West Mercia Police (), formerly the West Mercia Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire (including Telford and Wrekin) and Worcestershire in England. The force area cover ...

, who had responded to a call, fired a

taser Taser (stylized in all caps) is a line of handheld conducted energy devices (CED) sold by Axon Enterprise (formerly Taser International). The device fires two small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the targe ...

at him and one officer kicked him in the head. Atkinson went into

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

. The police officer who killed him was later found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Club career

Early career

Atkinson first came to prominence at Ipswich Town as a teenager, impressing seasoned experts with his speed and daring, which included a hat-trick against a

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

side containing Gary Pallister and future Ipswich captain

Tony Mowbray Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a d ...

at the heart of their defence, in the 1987–88 season. In 1989, manager

Ron Atkinson Ronald Frederick Atkinson (born 18 March 1939) is an English former football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Ron", he was regarded as one of Britain's best-known football pundits in the 1990s and early 2000s. Nicknamed "The Tank" during his ...

(no relation) brought him to

for £450,000 where he formed a fine front partnership with David Hirst for a single season. He was an ever-present in the league for Sheffield Wednesday in his only season there, scoring 10 goals but being unable to prevent them from being relegated. After relegation he was sold to

for £1.7 million. The

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

-based team had recently broken a tradition of only signing local players in order to bring British player Kevin Richardson and Ireland international John Aldridge to the club, making Atkinson their third foreigner and also the first black player in their history. He was nicknamed ''El txipiron'' (The

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

) by Sociedad fans during the 1990–91 season. His team did not have a good year, although Atkinson made a good contribution over the season, scoring 12 goals in La Liga. Atkinson was racially abused by opposition fans during his time in Spain.

Aston Villa

The 23-year-old joined Aston Villa for £1.6 million in July 1991, and became one half of another impressive partnership alongside Dean Saunders, when Saunders arrived from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

a year after Atkinson arrived there from Real Sociedad. The partnership was broken up in 1995 when both players were sold to Turkish clubs – Saunders to

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

and Atkinson to Fenerbahçe for £1.7 million. On 15 August 1992, Atkinson scored Villa's first ever Premier League goal, a 84-minute equaliser in a 1–1 away draw against Ipswich Town. He is probably most often remembered for his magnificent solo goal against

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

in a 3–2 away win on 3 October 1992, which won ''

Match of the Day ''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a Association football, football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights during the Premier League season. ''Match of the Day'' is one of the BBC's longest-runn ...

s Goal of the Season award for the 1992–93 season, the first season of the new

FA Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football ...

, when Villa finished runners-up. Starting deep in the Aston Villa half of the pitch with a one-touch trap from a lofted ball that immediately took him away from a defending player, Atkinson then skipped past two more Wimbledon players and, pausing briefly as he reached the edge of the opposition penalty area, produced a delicately arched chip-shot that floated over the rushing goalkeeper. That goal's celebration is still to this day well remembered by Aston Villa fans, on that rainy day fan Martin Pritchard had the impulse to jump from his seat, walk onto the field, and hold his umbrella up over the players. Atkinson also had the distinction of scoring Villa's first Premier League goal, when he scored their late equaliser in a 1–1 draw at Ipswich on the opening day of the season. Atkinson is remembered by Aston Villa fans for his goal in the 1994 League Cup final win against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, and that he scored twice in the semi-finals against

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

(once in the first leg and once in the second).

Later career

Atkinson missed Villa's departure for a 1994 pre-season tour of South Africa because of what was described as "personal problems." When Ron Atkinson left and was replaced as manager by Brian Little, he fell out of favour. In July 1995, Atkinson arrived in Istanbul to agree a deal with Fenerbahçe S.K. Atkinson failed to settle in Turkey and had loan spells with

and

. Atkinson left the club in 1997 and ended his career with stints in Saudi Arabia and South Korea, finally retiring as a player in 2001.

International career

Atkinson represented the England B side in a friendly 4–1 loss against Republic of Ireland B on 27 March 1990. He scored England's only goal in the game.

Personal life

Following the end of his professional football career, Atkinson returned to Telford where he ultimately lived at Little Dawley. Atkinson formed a sports consultancy for clubs, players and agents called "Players Come First" however the business was dissolved in November 2015.

Death

In his last years his health suffered with heart and kidney problems.Report by Lisa O'Brien, published following his funeral. Atkinson died on 15 August 2016 after being

ed by police near his father's house in

.Special Report by Jordan Reynolds and Mark Andrews. Police had responded to a call as Atkinson threatened to kill his father, Ernest. Atkinson's older brother Kenroy said "My brother had lost it. He was in a manic state and depressed – out of his mind and ranting. He had a tube in his shoulder for the dialysis and he had ripped it out and was covered in blood. He got dad by the throat and said he was going to kill him. He told dad he had already killed me, our brother Paul and sister Elaine and he had come for him." Officers deployed a taser three times, the first two being ineffective; after being successfully tasered and kicked in the head by a police officer, Atkinson sustained

on the way to the Princess Royal Hospital, Telford, where he was pronounced dead at about 03:00. He was 48. The incident was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. His former manager at Wednesday and Villa,

, called the incident an "out-and-out tragedy" and noted that Dalian "had terrific ability". Dalian Atkinson's

Humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

funeral took place at Telford Crematorium on 19 November 2016, followed by interment of his ashes at Hadley Cemetery.

Aftermath

In November 2019, one police officer was charged with murder in connection with Atkinson's death; another was charged with

assault occasioning actual bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong and t ...

. Both officers were due to stand trial in September 2020 but because of delays caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the trial was delayed until April 2021. On 26 April 2021, PC Benjamin Monk, who was charged with murder, pleaded not guilty. On 4 May, prosecutors said that Monk pressed the trigger of the taser for 33 seconds, exceeding the protocol of five seconds, before kicking Atkinson twice in the head after he fell to the ground. The defence barrister of his co-defendant said that the actions were "necessary and reasonable as part of

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

continuing efforts to restrain and detain an unpredictable and threateningly violent man as she perceived him to be". Monk was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

on 23 June 2021. The jury failed to reach a verdict on the other police officer, Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith's, assault charge. On 29 June, Monk was given an eight-year prison sentence. This was the first time in over 30 years that a serving police officer had been convicted of manslaughter in the course of duties. It was later disclosed that Monk had been found guilty of gross misconduct by West Mercia Police in 2011 for not declaring two police cautions in his application to join the police; he had stolen from his previous employer in 1997 and been found drunk in 1999. On 2 July, prosecutors announced that they would seek a retrial in the case of the other officer's assault charge. On 28 September 2022, Bettley-Smith was cleared of the assault charge. Bettley-Smith was accused of gross misconduct and faced a disciplinary panel held by West Mercia Police in March 2023. After Atkinson had been tasered, he was lying on the ground, and Bettley-Smith hit Atkinson three times with her baton. Bettley-Smith's lawyer said that Bettley-Smith behaved "as she was trained to do", and that "she showed bravery under extreme pressure and was in no way responsible for the tragic outcome." On 17 March 2023, Bettley-Smith was found guilty of gross misconduct for using

excessive force Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

. The tribunal found three initial strikes before Monk kicked Mr Atkinson were "lawful" but it found PC Bettley-Smith decision to then hit him a further three times, after police back-up had arrived was "unnecessary disproportionate and unreasonable". Despite being found guilty of gross misconduct, Bettley-Smith was allowed to keep her job as a police officer.

Career statistics

Honours

Aston Villa *

: 1993–94 Fenerbahçe *

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

: 1995–96 Individual * BBC Goal of the Season: 1992–93

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Dalian 1968 births 2016 deaths Men's association football forwards English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers England men's B international footballers Ipswich Town F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Real Sociedad footballers Aston Villa F.C. players Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers FC Metz players Manchester City F.C. players Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) players Daejeon Hana Citizen players Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors players Premier League players English Football League players La Liga players Süper Lig players Ligue 1 players English expatriate sportspeople in South Korea K League 1 players Saudi Pro League players Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Footballers from Shrewsbury English expatriate sportspeople in Spain English expatriate sportspeople in Turkey English expatriate sportspeople in France English expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Black British sportsmen People killed by law enforcement officers Police misconduct in England English manslaughter victims Victims of police brutality 20th-century English sportsmen