Australian Grade A club Winning Melbourne has said it is “devastated” and issued an official apology after its fans were forced to abandon a clash with local rivals. City of Melbourne by staging a violent pitch invasion, an incident that Football Australia has promised will lead to “strong sanctions.”
Planning to hold a 20th minute general strike to protest against league managers over Australian Professional League (APL) decision sell the right to organize the men’s and women’s finals of the tournament to Sydney for the next three years, both City and Victory fans began throwing flares over the AAMI Park arena before they left, with one apparently hitting the network’s camera operator. Ten.
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Fans had lit flares and small fireworks throughout the previous 20 minutes, with City fans hurling several projectiles onto the pitch to celebrate Aiden O’Neill’s 11th-minute opener.
However, the rocket was thrown out in the 20th minute, starting a series of spiraling events that saw City goalkeeper Tom Glover, attempt to break a projectile that had landed near him out of the way. field, throw a flare into the field and return to the Victory supporters. This then resulted in a flurry of fans storming the field in scenes reminiscent of violence between Nice and Marseille in 2021.
As fans gathered to his location, Glover was hit in the head by a metal bucket filled with sand designed to extinguish flares thrown at him. He was rushed off the field by teammates with blood seeping from the side of his head.
Referee Alex King was also hit in the head by a bucket, while the match referee coach was pushed into the fence. A spokesman for Football Australia described King as feeling shaken rather than injured, and he and fellow officials were escorted by security to their car to leave the stadium.
City officials say Glover needs stitches and suspect a concussion following the incident.
In a statement, Victory said it was devastated by the incident and unequivocally condemns the invasion of the pitch by their supporters.
“The club would like to formally apologize to Tom Glover, the match referee, Alex King and the cameraman as well as all the players, officials and people who witnessed this appalling behaviour,” the club said. write.
Both the players and coaching staff as well as the match officials quickly left the pitch as the encroachment continued; fans who remained on the field focused on attacking the sponsor’s boards and goals before being chased off the field by members of the Victoria Police Public Order Response Team.
After a long delay, the match was canceled to ensure the safety of the players, this is the first time an A-League match has been postponed for such a reason.
In a statement, Victoria Police said about 150-200 Victory supporters stormed the field and confirmed Glover and King’s injuries, as well as those of the Network Ten cameraman when he was hit by flares.
Police say that at this stage no arrests have been made, but investigations are ongoing.
“Melbourne Victory fans who stormed onto the pitch, resulting in the assault of a player, referee and matchday broadcaster are subject to the strongest possible sanctions,” a statement read. statement from the Association of Professional Footballers Australia said.
“We recognize the courage of the players, club staff and referees, who helped each other in situations where no one should have come into contact.”
Protests against the APL’s decision occurred at the Men’s A-League and Women’s A-League matches over the weekend, but all were peaceful.
Socceroo goalkeeper Danny Vukovicwas a member of the Qatar team that reached the round of 16 of the World Cup, say on social media that Australian football is experiencing its “darkest day” after the events.
The A-Leagues are run independently of Football Australia, but the national federation remains the governing body for the game and enforces the national code of conduct and arbitration; which means they will lead the investigation and put in place sanctions for turf infringement. Its CEO, James Johnson, will speak to the media on Sunday morning.
“Such conduct has no place in Australian Football, with a full Australian Football investigation commencing immediately where strong sanctions will be introduced,” a statement from the Union said. writing team.
Speaking to ESPN, a Football Australia official confirmed that the organization will use “full force” of its legal and disciplinary powers in relation to the incident and that members of the public have stands ready to assist them and Victoria Police in their investigation.
