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An Australian soccer match came to an early end after fans violently invaded the pitch, resulting in an ugly scene that culminated in injuries to a goalkeeper and a referee.
During the A-Leagues Melbourne Derby between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory on Saturday, fans from both sides planned on staging a joint-walkout in the 20th minute of the match to protest the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) decision to sell hosting rights to the leagues’ men’s and women’s grand finals to Sydney for the next three years. Fans of both clubs began throwing flares onto the AAMI Park field before making their exits, after having already launched projectiles onto the pitch following an 11th minute goal.
However, the situation escalated in the 20th minute when City goalkeeper Tom Glover attempted to remove a flare that landed on the playing surface and threw it back into the stands where a group of Victory supporters was sitting. At that point, a group of fans stormed the pitch.
The incident only got more dangerous as Glover was hit in the head by a metal bucket filled with sand that had been designed to extinguish flares hurled in his direction. Teammates rushed to him and escorted him off the field as blood trickled down the side of his face.
City officials said that Glover needed stitches and had a suspected concussion following the encounter. Referee Alex King also took a shot to the head from the thrown bucket, but was said to be more shaken than hurt, a Football Australia spokesperson told ESPN.
The game was suspended as both teams were cleared from the pitch. After a lengthy delay, the match was abandoned to ensure player safety, the first such time that an A-Leagues tilt had been called off for that reason.
According to ESPN, Victoria Police said that approximately 150–200 Victory supporters stormed the field. The club issued a statement, apologizing to Glover and King while condemning the actions of the fans.
“The club would like to formally apologise to Tom Glover, match official, Alex King and the camera operator as well as all players, officials and those who witnessed the appalling behaviour,” Victory said. “This conduct will not be tolerated and the Club, along with AAMI Park and Victoria Police, will undertake a full investigation into the incident.”
Football Australia also said that it plans to begin an immediate investigation into the incident and that it will pursue “strong sanctions” for those involved.
“We acknowledge the courage of players, club staff and referees who came to the aid of each other in circumstances that no one should ever be exposed to,” the federation said in a statement. “Such behaviour has no place in Australian Football, with a full Football Australia investigation to commence immediately, where strong sanctions to be handed down.”
