By Roy Ward
Football Australia has promised “strong sanctions” will be handed down after Melbourne Victory fans invaded the pitch and appeared to assault Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover during an A-League Men’s game on Saturday night.
Glover suffered a cut to his head, which needed stitches, and a suspected concussion, as the Melbourne derby was suspended at the 20-minute mark and later abandoned due to player safety.
Match referee Alex King sustained a cut to his eyebrow after being hit by a bucket as he attempted to shield Glover from the fans on the pitch, although an FA spokesperson said King was more rattled than hurt.
A bloodied Tom Glover is escorted from the pitch by teammates. Credit:Getty Images
Football Australia doesn’t control the A-League competition any more, as it is run independently, but is still responsible for discipline matters as the game’s governing body.
“Following shocking scenes during the first half of the A-League Men’s match between Melbourne Victory FC and Melbourne City FC at AAMI Park on Saturday 17 December, where fans from the Melbourne Victory FC end entered the field of play, Football Australia match officials have abandoned the match in accordance with law 5.3 of the laws of the game in order to protect the integrity of the match,” an FA statement read.
“Such behaviour has no place in Australian Football, with a full Football Australia investigation to commence immediately, where strong sanctions [are] to be handed down.”
A spokesperson said the FA would use the full force of its regulatory and disciplinary powers and that it was cooperating with Victoria Police as it investigated the incident.
The spokesperson said many people were coming forward to help identify the fans involved.
“Enough is enough,” the spokesperson said.
The Australian Professional Leagues, which administers the A-Leagues, refused to let the clubs speak to the media post-game, but issued a short statement confirming injuries to Glover and King, adding it was coordinating with FA “regarding the ramifications of these events”.
The APL said it would issue a further statement in response to video of the incident, which was going around the world.
Socceroos star Mathew Leckie, who plays for City, had a bottle thrown at him as he left the ground after thanking fans later in the evening. He was not injured.
Fans of both Victory and City were planning to walk out at the 20-minute mark in protest of a league grand final deal, but Victory fans turned their anger on Glover after he appeared to throw a flare back towards the fans after it was thrown in his direction.
That saw a group of fans run through security and onto the pitch where some of them began to protest, but others went straight for Glover, pushing and attempting to hit him before one fan appeared to throw a metal bucket, which cut his head.
The Victory face a record penalty, which could include a points deduction, games behind closed doors and other crowd-related restrictions.
Security and players from both sides managed to get between Glover and the fans before steering him off the ground and down the tunnel.
A larger group of fans then spilled onto the pitch swinging on the goal posts and throwing objects around the field until police and security forced them back into the crowd.
Victory’s main active group Original Style Melbourne and City’s City Terrace both took aim at Australian Professional Leagues, the administrative group who run the A-League competitions, with chants of “F—k the APL” breaking out throughout the night.
City Terrace also took aim at APL chief executive Danny Townsend chanting “Danny Townsend, you ruined the league” before unfurling a banner which stretched across the group and read “Football without fans is nothing!!”
At the Victory end, their fans held a small banner which read “Look at your elf” along with a picture of a cartoon pig with a shirt that had APL on it.
Fans storm the pitch at the A-League Men round eight Melbourne derby. Credit:Darrian Traynor, Getty Images
Some Victory fans appeared to release small fireworks from the active section while City’s fans released three flares in the moments after City midfielder Aiden O’Neill cracked home the opening goal on 11 minutes.
The Victory and City fan groups rarely agree on anything, but they were in complete alignment over their disgust at the decision to sell the A-League Men’s and Women’s grand final to Destination NSW through to the end of 2025.
The deal, reportedly worth $12 million, triggered blanket condemnation from across the competition despite revelations that the money was needed to cover a shortfall in the league’s broadcast deal after they were required to achieve a certain number of subscriptions for Paramount+ and didn’t meet that figure.
Many fans were keenly awaiting this Melbourne derby as the league resumes on the back of the Socceroos’ inspired run to the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar but, instead, the fury at the lack of consultation behind the decision to sell the grand final took the focus away from the game and onto the shortcomings of its management.
What should have been a much-deserved welcome for City’s World Cup heroes Mathew Leckie, Jamie MacLaren and Marco Tilio instead was the site of fan revolt.
Victoria Police respond to unruly fans. Credit:Darrian Traynor, Getty Images
The A-League has always allowed the highest-ranked team to host the grand final, leading to memorable Men’s deciders in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Newcastle since its launch in 2005.
One exception was the Gosford-based Central Coast Mariners who had to play their grand final at the Sydney Football Stadium in 2008 due to their home ground being deemed too small for the decider.
Victory fans in particular have rich memories of home grand finals dating back to the second season of the competition when Archie Thompson’s five goals highlighted a 6-0 thrashing of Adelaide United in front of 55,436 fans at Marvel Stadium in 2007.
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