Former Nottingham Forest defender Thomas Lam had to clear the pitch after violent scenes in the Melbourne derby in Australia's A-League.
The match was abandoned in the first half when Melbourne City goalkeeper, Lam's teammate, Tom Glover was hit in the head by a metal bin and was left bleeding as fans stormed the pitch.
Both teams were ushered off amid the chaos with City leading 1-0 as the referee, who was covered by powder in the bin, decided to abandon the game on the grounds of player safety being at risk.
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The the trouble started when fans flew flares on the pitch, with Glover seen to throw one back at Melbourne Victory fans, leading to some climbing over barriers to confront Glover, who was hit in the head in the melee.
The hostile environment during the game was reportedly not because it was a derby, but because of the Australian Professional Leagues’ controversial decision to sell off grand final hosting rights to Sydney for the next three years. That led to fan protests across the country, but it turned nasty in Melbourne.
Former Reds defender Lam joined Melbourne City in August and has played seven times for the club. He played 21 times for Forest in the 2016/17 season before leaving a year later for former club PEC Zwolle. He has since also played for CSKA Sofia and was a part of Finland's Euro 2020 squad.
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