Some spectators who were enjoying the Melbourne Derby of the Australian Professional Football League A broke into the ground, attacked the referee and a player, and assaulted the match, resulting in the game being stopped and then canceled.
On the 17th, this unfortunate incident occurred in the 22nd minute of the first half of the match held at AAMI Park, which is shared by Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory. As fans flocked to City goalkeeper Tom Glover (24), 토토 referee Alex King tried to stop him, but fans swung an iron bucket and both men suffered facial scars. Glover immediately had several stitches at the scene and was transported to the hospital for a detailed examination. City said in a statement that Glover “received further follow-up examinations” after being evaluated by club medical staff.
A TV cameraman was also injured in the process. The Victory club also said in a statement, “I feel dismayed and unparalleled contempt for the absurd behavior of the fans.” It was unacceptable and had no place in football,” he lamented.
According to the British BBC, the fans did not invade the ground because of the content of the game. The Australian Professional League (APL) was holding protests before the match over the sale of the A-League’s Grand Finals ownership to Sydney last week over a three-year period. Protests were planned not only for this match, but also for several A-League matches this weekend.
Newcastle Jets supporters were also sent off in protest in the 20th minute of the home game against Brisbane Roar the previous day. Central Coast Mariners fans also did the same during the game against Sydney FC that day, while some groups of Sydney FC supporters showed their boycott skills by not watching the game at all.
However, the fans of the two teams who visited the Melbourne derby were about to leave when the game was in progress for 20 minutes, but some radical fans threw red flames on the ground and got excited. Manchester City were leading 1-0, but the trouble was that Glover picked up a prominence and tried to throw it back into the cheering box, according to Melbourne local newspaper The Age.
Victoria Police said between 150 and 200 Victory fans ran onto the ground and hit Glover goalkeeper and referee King with the buckets used to extinguish the flares. Nani, who has represented Portugal and also played for Manchester United, also quickly ran off the ground. The Football Association of Australia vowed to take strong disciplinary action, explaining that the game was canceled “to protect the integrity of the game”.
“I can’t believe this happened,” said Robbie Slater, a former Australian national team midfielder. “The protests shouldn’t be like this. It is very sad that it has come to this point.” Clint Bolton, who was also the national team’s goalkeeper, said, “I have never felt the embarrassment and emptiness I feel now.” Western United’s left full-back Ben Garuccio said, “It is an absolute disgrace to Melbourne Victory fans.” . Hopefully, anyone throwing the bucket should be punished so that they are not allowed to enter another A-League game.”