After a violent pitch invasion in December’s derby between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory left a goalkeeper wounded, Football Australia (FA) punished Melbourne Victory with a record A-League fine of 450,000 Australian dollars ($380,000) and the prospect of a 10-point deduction. When Victory supporters swarmed the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium pitch, City goalkeeper Tom Glover was hit in the face with a metal bucket full of sand, leaving him with cuts and bruises.
One of the television cameramen and the referee were harmed as well. Every instance of “severe supporter misbehavior” for the rest of this season and the next three seasons will immediately trigger the suspended 10-point punishment. In addition to losing their allotted seats for away games for the remainder of the season, Victory have been barred from selling tickets in the section of the stadium from where the fans stormed the pitch. FA estimated that the team will lose additional $100,000 due to these punishments. After the supporters flooded the field, City was awarded a 1-0 advantage, which will be preserved for the April rematch that will begin in the 22nd minute. James Johnson, the chief executive of the Australian Football Association, called the scenes the “worst” the country’s football has seen since the 2004 inception of the A-League. The safety of our players and match officials is vital, he added in a statement released on Tuesday, and the field of play is holy. Those that breached the boundary by entering the playing field unlawfully, causing damage, and verbally and physically assaulting players and officials are in the wrong. Sanctions against Melbourne Victory were deemed essential to fostering an atmosphere where the sport of football takes precedence and fans may go to games.
Seventeen spectators have been banned from attending future games because of their involvement in the incident, with some of the suspensions being permanent. After the club’s sanctions were handed down, Victory issued a statement announcing they will not be appealing. “Melbourne Victory will comply with any punishments given down the FA in its final finding and is working with the necessary stakeholders to guarantee its matches moving forward will be a safe environment for players, supporters, and everyone,” it said.
