Player injured, Melbourne derby abandoned after violent pitch invasion
A group of Melbourne Victory fans ran onto the ground and appeared to assault Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover as a protest against the A-League’s management spilled over into violence and forced the game to be abandoned on Saturday night.
Fans of both Victory and City were planning to walk out at the 20-minute mark, but Victory fans turned their anger on Glover after he appeared to throw a flare back towards the fans after it was thrown in his direction.
That saw a group of fans run through security and onto the pitch, some of them began to protest, but others went straight for Glover, pushing and attempting to hit him before one fan appeared to throw a metal bucket, which cut his head.
A bloodied Tom Glover is escorted from the pitch by teammates. Credit:Darrian Traynor, Getty Images
Glover was receiving stitches in the change rooms and City officials said he had a suspected concussion.
Play was stopped, and both sides left the field with the game abandoned due to player safety soon after.
Some City players returned to the ground to thank their fans but steered clear of the Victory supporter area.
Security and players from both sides managed to get between Glover and the fans before steering him off the ground and down the tunnel.
A larger group of fans then spilled onto the pitch swinging on the goal posts and throwing objects around the field until police and security forced them back into the crowd.
Victory’s main active group Original Style Melbourne and City’s City Terrace both took aim at Australian Professional Leagues, the administrative group who run the A-League competitions, with chants of “F—k the APL” breaking out throughout the night.
City Terrace also took aim at APL chief executive Danny Townsend chanting “Danny Townsend, you ruined the league” before unfurling a banner which stretched across the group and read “Football without fans is nothing!!”
At the Victory end, their fans held a small banner which read “Look at your elf” along with a picture of a cartoon pig with a shirt that had APL on it.
Fans storm the pitch at the A-League Men round eight Melbourne derby. Credit:Darrian Traynor, Getty Images
Some Victory fans appeared to release small fireworks from the active section while City’s fans released three flares in the moments after City midfielder Aiden O’Neill cracked home the opening goal on 11 minutes.
The Victory and City fan groups rarely agree on anything, but they were in complete alignment over their disgust at the decision to sell the A-League Men’s and Women’s grand final to Destination NSW through to the end of 2025.
The deal, reportedly worth $12 million, triggered blanket condemnation from across the competition despite revelations that the money was needed to cover a shortfall in the league’s broadcast deal after they were required to achieve a certain number of subscriptions for Paramount+ and didn’t meet that figure.
Many fans were keenly awaiting this Melbourne derby as the league resumes on the back of the Socceroos’ inspired run to the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar but, instead, the fury at the lack of consultation behind the decision to sell the grand final took the focus away from the game and onto the shortcomings of its management.
Victoria Police respond to unruly fans. Credit:Darrian Traynor, Getty Images
What should have been a much-deserved welcome for City’s World Cup heroes Mathew Leckie, Jamie MacLaren and Marco Tilio instead was the site of fan revolt.
The A-League has always allowed the highest-ranked team to host the grand final leading to memorable Men’s deciders in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Newcastle since its launch in 2005.
One exception was the Gosford-based Central Coast Mariners who had to play their grand final at the Sydney Football Stadium in 2008 due to their home ground being deemed too small for the decider.
Victory fans in particular have rich memories of home grand finals dating back to the second season of the competition when Archie Thompson’s five goals highlighted a 6-0 thrashing of Adelaide United in front of 55,436 fans at Marvel Stadium in 2007.
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