Melbourne Victory are preparing their response to Football Australia’s show cause notice for their fans’ violent derby pitch invasion as the A-Leagues powerhouse braces for point deductions, fines and crowd bans.
Victory have until 9am AEDT on Wednesday to show why they “should not face serious sanctions for bringing the game into disrepute” after their active fans stormed the AAMI Park pitch on Saturday night, forcing the abandonment of their A-League Men match.
Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover was hit by a metal bucket wielded by a pitch invader and referee Alex King was also injured, while a television cameraman was struck by a flare.
Victory and FA have been inundated with information from supporters and the general public while Victoria Police confirmed on Monday three men had been charged for their roles in the pitch invasion.
A 23-year-old Craigieburn man accused of throwing a bucket full of sand at Glover was charged with violent disorder and discharging a missile, among other offences.
Another two men – a 19-year-old from Meadow Heights and an 18-year-old from Alphington – were also charged with allegedly assaulting the goalkeeper in separate incidents.
All three men self-presented to police stations on Monday and were bailed to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court in February.
Victoria Police alleged two security guards were also injured during the pitch invasion, when more than 150 fans ran onto the playing arena.
About 50 flares were allegedly lit in the stands, with at least three thrown onto the pitch, while about $120,000 worth of damage was caused to AAMI Park.
FA has confirmed repercussions could include financial penalties, loss of competition points and playing matches either behind closed doors or on neutral territory.
“We will move quickly to properly investigate this matter and where appropriate, issue the strongest possible sanctions to the club and individuals involved,” FA chief executive James Johnson said in a statement.
The perpetrators appear likely to receive life bans.
“This is a small group of perpetrators that don’t love football, that don’t love the A-League and that don’t love Melbourne Victory,” A-Leagues boss Danny Townsend told Seven Network’s Sunrise.
“We’ve got to weed them out and we’ve got to make sure that what happened on Saturday night never happens again.”
FA has not ruled out sanctions against City or Glover, who tossed a flare thrown onto the pitch by fans back into the crowd, prompting some supporters to storm the field.
Glover returned to training on Monday with dressing protecting the stitches used to repair a “severe laceration” on the side of his face.
The goalkeeper, who also suffered concussion, expressed disappointment over the position Australian football now finds itself in, two weeks after the Socceroos’ impressive World Cup run ended.
“The incident is disappointing for Australian football itself,” Glover told the Nine Network.
“The Socceroos were unbelievable and (we were) hopefully riding the wave of that, but a small minority kind of ruins it.”
