Dalian Atkinson: Who was footballer and how did he die?
After being talent scouted as a schoolboy, the former star went on to score Match of the Day’s first goal of the season before his life came to a tragic end
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Your support makes all the difference.Dalian Atkinson was a former Aston Villafootballer who died in August 2016.
Born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, in 1968, Atkinson was a top flight striker in the 1990s.
After being spotted by talent scouts, he began his career at Ipswich Town as a teenager.
The footballer then went on to play for Sheffield Wednesday and Spanish team Real Sociedad before moving to Aston Villa.
He helped Villa win the 1994 League Cup final against Manchester United by scoring at Wembley.
He also scored Match of the Day’s first ever Premier League goal of the season against Wimbledon in 1992.
He scored more than 20 Premier League goals for the Birmingham side between 1991 and 1995 before going on to play less successfully for teams including Turkish side Fenerbahce and Manchester City.
He ended his career playing in South Korea in 2001.
After retiring from football, Atkinson set up a sports consultancy in Shropshire called Players Come First.
His Villa manager Ron Atkinson described him as “happy go-lucky” and “always smiling” in a tribute after his death.
Atkinson died at the age of 48 after being Tasered by police outside his father’s home in Meadow Close, Trench, Telford, in the early hours of 15 August 2016.
He was given medical treatment but died shortly after arriving at The Princess Royal Hospital, in Telford, having gone into cardiac arrest.
He was reportedly suffering from a number of health issues at the time of his death.
Two police officers were charged and put on trial following Atkinson’s death.
PC Benjamin Monk, who tasered the ex-footballer and kicked him twice in the head, was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
Jurors took more than 18 hours to reach unanimous verdicts - delivered on 23 June - on Monk, who claimed he was put in fear of his life by Atkinson.
According to the charity Inquest, no officer has been found guilty of murder or manslaughter over a death in custody or following police contact in England and Wales since the 1980s.
On 29 June, Monk was jailed for eight years for the crime.
The jury in the case was discharged after failing to reach a verdict on an assault charge relating to Monk’s colleague and girlfriend at the time, Pc Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith.
Atkinson was laid to rest during a humanist funeral service in November 2016.
The celebrant at his funeral described how, as a youngster, he played football in the street in Meadow Close with his brothers and friends.
Additional reporting by Press Association
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