Football Australia (FA) has fined Melbourne Victory a total of $550,000 and handed the club a suspended 10-point deduction, after considering the club’s response to the ‘show cause’ notice issued following December’s Melbourne Derby pitch invasion.
Found to have brought the game into disrepute, Victory have been fined a total of $550,000, consisting of $450,000 in fines, and $100,000 in lost revenue.
For the remainder of the 2022-23 A-League Men season, including finals, Victory’s access to seating behind the goals will be blocked in the North End of AAMI Park, while the club have been directed that no specifically allocated team supporter seating at away games will be provided for the remainder of the campaign.
The suspended 10-point deduction – ending at the end of the 2025-26 Isuzu UTE A-League season – may be triggered for each instance of serious supporter misconduct during this term and the next three campaigns.
The Round 8 clash between Victory and City, which was halted in the 22nd minute, will be replayed in April 23, with City leading 1-0.
Victory have seven business days to appeal the decision.
Following the announcement of Football Australia’s financial and sporting sanctions on Melbourne Victory FC, APL CEO Danny Townsend said: “We acknowledge Football Australia’s independent regulatory process and associated findings and will work through resulting consequences.
“The behaviour we all witnessed on that evening has no place in our game, and we continue to work with all parties to ensure the best possible match day experience.
“The majority of fans are now able to return to enjoy the game we all love and we are all looking forward to an incredible year of A-Leagues and international football in Australia and New Zealand.”
In a statement, Melbourne Victory said: “Melbourne Victory will comply with all sanctions handed down by FA in its final determination and is working with the relevant stakeholders to ensure its matches moving forward will be a safe environment for players, fans and everyone involved.”
The statement continued: “The Club has strongly advocated to FA and the League over the last few weeks to ensure both the final and interim sanctions imposed by FA acknowledge that what occurred at the Derby was not reflective of the majority of our North End members or the broader Melbourne Victory fanbase.
“While the interim sanctions imposed by FA did not necessarily reflect this, with restricted or changed access for our North End and South End members, the final determination issued today does take into account Melbourne Victory’s broader fanbase behaviour.
“While these sanctions will still impact the Club, and North End members, Melbourne Victory will work with the stadium and our ticketing agent to ensure all our fans can watch the A-League Men’s team this season while adhering to the sanctions determined by FA.
“The Club, having only received the determination from FA just prior to the public announcement on Tuesday, is currently working through the detail of the sanctions and does have some queries around implementation which will be raised with Football Australia.
“Once all details are confirmed, the Club will separately communicate to all of its member groups and key stakeholders around the impact of the sanctions and how they can be implemented with as little disruption as possible.”
Earlier, FA CEO James Johnson said: “Football Australia has found that the Melbourne Victory Football Club, through the inexcusable conduct of many individuals who entered the field of play from the Melbourne Victory Active Supporters section at the Melbourne Derby on 17 December 2022, has committed a serious breach of our rules and regulations.
“The sanctions we have issued against Melbourne Victory are the heaviest in the A-League era. These sanctions are reflective of our desire to remove this behaviour, and those that perpetuate it, from our game. They also form part of a broader response to this incident which has seen seventeen bans issued against individuals to date, including three lifetime bans, and preliminary sanctions against Melbourne Victory.
“The field of play is sacred and the safety of our players and match officials is paramount. Those individuals that illegally entered the field of play, caused damage, and verbally and physically assaulted players and officials, crossed the line. We have worked closely with Victoria Police to identify these individuals and will continue to do so to ensure those that those that display anti-social and criminal behaviour at football events are not involved in our game in any way.
“I can sympathise with the vast majority of fans and the broader football community who were sickened and hurt by the actions of those individuals.
“The sanctions imposed on Melbourne Victory are a necessary step to ensure we create an environment where we place football first, and our community can enjoy matches.
“We would like to acknowledge and commend the actions taken by Melbourne Victory so far.”
