Former Aston Villa Forward Dalian Atkinson Dead After Tasing Incident

Dalian Atkinson, who was perhaps best known for playing as a striker for the English Premier League’s Aston Villa during the 1990s, died Sunday night following an incident in which police hit him with a stun gun in his native Telford, England, roughly 30 miles west of Birmingham. He was 48.

Former Aston Villa Forward Dalian Atkinson Dead After Tasing Incident

Atkinson also played for Sheffield Wednesday prior to his time with Aston Villa.

According to Sky News, Atkinson died of cardiac arrest as he was being transported to a local hospital.

“I had known him since he was a little boy, he was a famous footballer at one time,” an unnamed witness told Sky News. “He was friendly, he had no trouble that I know of.”

Atkinson’s father, Ernest, told the Mirror that his son was “very agitated” and “upset” at his home Sunday night before someone — not Ernest himself — called the police.

“I don’t know if he was drunk or on drugs but he was very agitated and his mind was upset,” Ernest Atkinson said, adding that police used the Taser on his son in the street in front of his house.

Without naming the former soccer player, West Mercia police issued the following statement regarding the incident:

“West Mercia Police can confirm that officers responded to a report for the concern for the safety of an individual at approximately 1:30am this morning (Monday 15 August) at an address in Telford.

Upon arrival Taser was deployed and a 48-year-old man, who subsequently received medical attention, was pronounced dead at approximately 3am.

West Mercia Police are unable to comment any further as the incident has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) as is normal procedure and will assist the IPCC with their enquiries.”

Atkinson scored a goal for Aston Villa against Wimbledon in October 1992 that was named that season’s goal of the year by the BBC. That year, he helped lead Aston Villa to a second-place finish in the Premier League.

Atkinson also led Villa to the 1994 League Cup title, scoring twice in the semifinals against Tranmere Rovers and once in the final against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.

After suffering a string of injuries, Atkinson was sold to Turkish club Fenerbahce in 1995. After two years there, he was loaned to Metz in France and Manchester City back in England. He finished his career playing in Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

His former teammates, and current Aston Villa players took to Twitter to pay homage to the fallen star.

Using the hashtag #UmbrellasForDalian, Aston Villa fans on Twitter called for supporters to pay tribute to Atkinson by bringing their umbrellas to the team’s next game on Tuesday night. The gesture would be a reference to one of Atkinson’s best-known goal celebrations, in which he and a teammate stood under an umbrella.

Club owner and chairman Tony Xia ruled out the gesture on health and safety grounds, but said another tribute was in the works.

1993: Portrait of Dalian Atkinson of Aston Villa. \ Mandatory Credit: Anton Want/Allsport