Australian A-League club Victoria Melbourne said it was “devastated” and issued a formal apology after its fans’ desertion clash with local rivals Melbourne City sparked a violent attack, an incident which Football Australia has promised will lead to a violent attack. as “strong sanctions”.
A joint walk-out plan has been launched on the 20th to protest the federal administrators of the Australian Professional League (APL)’s plan to sell hosting rights to the men’s grand final in Sydney for three years, as well as the city and Victoria. they threw flowers at the AAMI Park playing surface before they made their exit, with one apparently working to hit a Network Ten radio camera.
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Fans had already lit flares and small torches for the previous 20 minutes, when City fans threw some onto the pitch in celebration of Aiden O’Neill’s 11th-minute opener.
After the missiles were thrown in the 20th minute, however, events began to turn around, which saw City goalkeeper Tom Glover, trying to clear the projectile that had landed on the ground near him, fire up the pitch and throw it back to Victoria. suffragans From there, the crowd of fans stormed the pitch in scenes similar to the violence between Nice and Marseille in 2021.
As he turned to his position, Glover was hit on the head with a metal bucket filled with sand, intended to extinguish the flames thrown in his direction. He rushed off the pitch with his teammates bleeding from the side of the head.
Referee Alex King also suffered a head attack from a bucket, while the game’s coach was knocked into the fence by the referee. A Football Australia spokesman described King as more shaken than hurt, and he and his teammates were escorted to the exit of the stadium by a security car.
State officials said Glover needed stitches and had a suspected concussion after the incident.
In a statement, Victoria said she was devastated by the incident and unequivocally condemned the actions of her supporters who invaded the pitch.
“The club would like to formally apologize to Tom Glover, the match official, Alex King and the camera operator as well as all the players, officials and those who witnessed the rough behaviour,” he said.
Both the players and the coaching vehicles, as well as the officials, quickly made their pitch as the invasion of the pitch continued; the fans who remained on the surface focused their attention on attacking the sponsor’s boards and goals before being escorted off the field by members of the Victoria Public Order Response Team.
After a long delay, the match was abandoned to ensure the safety of the players, the first time that an A-League fixture has been called off for such a reason.
In a statement, Victoria Police said approximately 150-200 Victoria supporters stormed the field and confirmed the injuries to Glover and King, as well as the injuries reported by a Network Ten cameraman when he was struck by the flames.
Police said there was no evidence at the scene, but the investigation was ongoing.
“Victoria Melbourne fans invaded the pitch, so in the attack on the players, the referee and the member of the matchday staff, he should be subjected to the strongest sanctions,” said a statement from the Professional Footballers’ Union of Australia.
“We appreciate the spirit of the players, the club staff and the referees, who helped each other in situations so that no one would ever suffer.”
Demonstrations against the APL’s decision have already taken place at the A-League Men and A-League Women’s games that have already taken place over the weekend, but all were of a peaceful nature.
Morbioo goalkeeper Danny Vukovic, who was a member of the team in Qatar that made it to the world of 16 World Cup. he said on social media Australian football was experiencing its “darkest day” in light of the results.
The A-Leagues are run independently of Football Australia, but the national federation remains the governing body of the game and the national code of conduct and refereeing; meaning that he would conduct an investigation and sanctions arising from the invasion of the pitch. Its CEO, James Johnson, went on to address the media on Sunday morning.
“Such behavior has no place in Australian Football, with a full investigation by Football Australia to commence immediately, where strong sanctions will be handed down,” the Federation’s statement read.
Speaking to ESPN, a Football Australia official confirmed that the organization would use the “full force” of their regulatory and disciplinary actions on the matter, and that members of the public were already on hand to assist them and Victoria Police with their investigation.
