A-League

Melbourne City player Tom Glover received medical treatment for a head injury after being caught in the middle of violence between angry A-League fans.

There had been a tense atmosphere throughout the start to the game with both sets of active fans planning to depart the game at the 20-minute mark as part of a protest towards the Australian Professional Leagues. Both sets of fans had been throwing flares on the pitch but the situation escalated when a flare appeared to hit a Channel 10 cameraman, then exploded when Glover picked another off the ground and threw it back into the stands. Fans from the Melbourne Victory active area rushed the pitch just after the 20-minute mark of Saturday night's game at AAMI Park and Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover was left with a cut head and a suspected concussion after someone threw a metal bucket.

The Melbourne derby has descended into chaos in one of the ugliest scenes in the competition's history.

There had been a tense atmosphere to start to the match with both sets of active fans planning to leave the game at the 20-minute mark as part of a protest towards the Australian Professional Leagues. Both sets of fans started “f*** the APL” chants immediately after the preceding A-League Women’s game finished. Fans then rushed the pitch and Glover was struck by the metal bucket, which is used to dispose of flares, and immediately started bleeding from his temple, requiring medical assistance. Both sets of fans had been throwing flares onto the playing arena. [Melbourne Victory](https://7news.com.au/sport/melbourne-victory) active area rushed the pitch soon after the 20-minute mark of Saturday night’s game at AAMI Park and [Melbourne City](https://7news.com.au/sport/melbourne-city) goalkeeper Tom Glover was left with a cut head and a suspected concussion after he was struck by a metal bucket. Fans from the

The A-League's Melbourne derby has descended into violent chaos and been abandoned, after fans storming the pitch and even attacking a player amid a series ...

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Play between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City has been stopped after fans stormed the pitch, with goalkeeper Tom Glover bloodied in the chaos.

Fans of both Victory and City were planning to walk out at the 20-minute mark in protest of a league grand final deal, 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. He was not injured. [the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar](/link/follow-20170101-p5c3t2) 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. [revelations that the money was needed to cover a shortfall in the league’s broadcast deal](/link/follow-20170101-p5c6rv) after they were required to achieve a certain number of subscriptions for Paramount+ and didn’t meet that figure. “Following shocking scenes during the first half of the A-League Men’s match between Melbourne Victory FC and Melbourne City FC at AAMI Park on Saturday 17 December, where fans from the Melbourne Victory FC end entered the field of play, Football Australia match officials have abandoned the match in accordance with law 5.3 of the laws of the game in order to protect the integrity of the match,” an FA statement read. Glover suffered a cut to his head, which needed stitches, and a suspected concussion, as the Melbourne derby was suspended at the 20-minute mark and later abandoned due to player safety.

The A-League derby between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory has been abandoned to ensure player safety after a violent pitch invasion.

"Following shocking scenes during the first half of the A-League Men's match between Melbourne Victory FC and Melbourne City FC at AAMI Park on Saturday 17 December, where fans from the Melbourne Victory FC end entered the field of play, Football Australia match officials have abandoned the match in accordance with Law 5.3 of the Laws of the Game in order to protect the integrity of the match," Football Australia said in a statement. "The A-League Men fixture between Melbourne City FC and Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park has been abandoned as a result of the pitch invasion by Melbourne Victory fans, and the subsequent injuries to Melbourne City FC goalkeeper Tom Glover and the match official Alex King," an A-Leagues statement said. [Tom Glover](https://www.espn.com.au/football/player/_/id/223228/thomas-glover), attempting to clear a projectile that had landed near him off the field, throw a flare off the pitch and back into the Victory supporters, which then led to a host of fans storming onto the pitch in scenes reminiscent of the violence between [Nice](/football/team?id=2502) and [Marseille](/football/team?id=176) in 2021. As fans stormed towards his position, Glover was then hit in the head by a metal bucket filled with sand designed to extinguish flares hurled in his direction and was rushed from the pitch with blood coming out of the side of his head. [Melbourne City](http://Melbourne City) and [Melbourne Victory](/football/team/_/id/5328/melbourne-victory) was abandoned to ensure player safety after a violent pitch invasion. Fans had ignited flares and small fireworks throughout the preceding 20 minutes, with City fans hurling a number of projectiles onto the pitch in celebration of

For years, A-League fans looked at soccer riots overseas and maintained that would never happen here. The moment Tom Glover was assaulted by fans live on TV ...

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Football Australia has launched an immediate investigation into fan violence that erupted during the Melbourne derby game. Goalkeeper Tom Glover was ...

There had been a tense atmosphere throughout the start to the game with both sets of active fans planning to depart the game at the 20-minute mark as part of a protest towards the Australian Professional Leagues. Both sets of fans had been throwing flares on the pitch but the situation escalated when a flare appeared to hit a Channel 10 cameraman, then exploded when Glover picked another off the ground and threw it back into the stands. Fans from the Melbourne Victory active area rushed the pitch just after the 20-minute mark of Saturday night's game at AAMI Park and Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover was left with a cut head and a suspected concussion after someone threw a metal bucket.

Football Australia has promised “strong sanctions” will be handed down after Melbourne Victory fans invaded the pitch and appeared to assault Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover during an A-League Men's game on Saturday night.

“The match was abandoned after approximately 150-200 Melbourne Victory supporters entered the field of play. There were no other incidents reported to police and at this stage no arrests have been made.” He was not injured. Fans of both Victory and City were planning to walk out at the 20-minute mark in protest of a league grand final deal, 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. “Victoria Police is disappointed with the behaviour of some supporters at Saturday night’s A-League men’s game between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory in Melbourne,” police said. “Following shocking scenes during the first half of the A-League Men’s match between Melbourne Victory FC and Melbourne City FC at AAMI Park on Saturday 17 December, where fans from the Melbourne Victory FC end entered the field of play, Football Australia match officials have abandoned the match in accordance with law 5.3 of the laws of the game in order to protect the integrity of the match,” an FA statement read.

The A-League derby between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory was abandoned amid chaotic scenes following a pitch invasion on Saturday in which City ...

are not acceptable under any circumstance and have no place in football," Victory said. A flare also appeared to hit a Network 10 cameraman covering the match. He was taken to hospital for scans and follow-up checks. "The security and welfare of everyone involved in a football match is paramount and the club will not accept this behaviour. Players and officials left the pitch and the contest was abandoned after police were called to control the crowd. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

Saturday night's Melbourne derby at AAMI Park was abandoned for safety reasons after Melbourne City goalkeeper Thomas Glover and referee Alex King were both ...

How did it come to this? “I don’t know how we recover from this. Glover seemed to throw one of the flares back towards the Victory fans. “The PFA has met with the players involved in tonight’s match and will continue to ensure they are provided with the full support and resources of the PFA,” a PFA statement said. In a statement posted a few hours after the abandonment of the match for safety reasons, the Victory said it was “devastated” and apologised to Glover, King and the cameraman. Players’ union Professional Football Australia have called for the “strongest possible sanctions” to be slapped on the Melbourne Victory fans responsible for assaulting Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover, referee Alex King and a member of the broadcast staff.

The A-League derby between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory has been abandoned to ensure player safety after a violent pitch invasion.

A Football Australia spokesperson described King as being more shaken than hurt, and he and his fellow officials were escorted to their cars by security to exit the stadium. As fans converged on his position, Glover was hit in the head by a metal bucket filled with sand designed to extinguish flares hurled in his direction. Its CEO James Johnson is set to address the media on Sunday morning. This then led to a host of fans storming onto the pitch in scenes reminiscent of the violence between In a statement, Victory said that it was devastated by the incident and that it unequivocally condemned the actions of its supporters that invaded the pitch. [A-Leagues](/soccer/league/_/name/aus.1) club [Melbourne Victory](/soccer/team/_/id/5328/melbourne-victory) has said that it is "devastated" and issued a formal apology after its fans forced the abandonment of a clash with local rivals [Melbourne City](/soccer/team/_/id/11143/melbourne-city-fc) by staging a violent pitch invasion, an incident which Football Australia has promised will lead to "strong sanctions."

Football Australia is investigating fan violence that erupted during the A-League Men's Melbourne derby, causing injuries to players and the abandonment of ...

Micah wasn't surprised by the latest incident and said all she'd received was an "apology". Victory apologised on Saturday night. The incident was condemned throughout Australian football, with Matildas captain and Chelsea superstar Sam Kerr writing on Twitter it was a "very sad day for football in Aus". Former Adelaide United striker and current Network 10 pundit Bruce Djite told AAP it was hard to see how Australian football could recover and said FA needed to "throw the library at Melbourne Victory." The league is run by the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) but Football Australia manages judiciary matters and said it would commence an investigation and hand down "strong sanctions". Saturday night's match was abandoned after fans from the Melbourne Victory active area stormed the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium pitch, with Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover and referee Alex King struck by a metal bucket and injured.

Saturday night's Melbourne derby at AAMI Park was abandoned for safety reasons after Melbourne City goalkeeper Thomas Glover and referee Alex King were both ...

How did it come to this? “I don’t know how we recover from this. Glover seemed to throw one of the flares back towards the Victory fans. “There should have just been a walkout, not an invasion of the pitch, the flares and the assaults.” “The PFA has met with the players involved in tonight’s match and will continue to ensure they are provided with the full support and resources of the PFA,” a PFA statement said. In a statement posted a few hours after the abandonment of the match for safety reasons, the Victory said it was “devastated” and apologised to Glover, King and the cameraman. “This was supposed to be a time when we were celebrating the wonderful achievements of our Socceroos at the World Cup, and now this has happened,” a saddened Slater said. Players’ union Professional Football Australia have called for the “strongest possible sanctions” to be slapped on the Melbourne Victory fans responsible for assaulting Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover, referee Alex King and a member of the broadcast staff. “The security and welfare of everyone involved in a football match is paramount and the club will not accept this behaviour. Melbourne Victory has condemned fabs of the club that invaded the pitch in Saturday night’s Melbourne derby and assaulted Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover, referee Alex King and a cameraman. FA later issued a statement, saying the match was abandoned “in accordance with Law 5.3 of the Laws of the Game in order to protect the integrity of the match.” “A full investigation will take place and those responsible will face the harshest of punishments.”

The A-League derby between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory was abandoned amid chaotic scenes following a pitch invasion.

are not acceptable under any circumstance and have no place in football," Victory said. A flare also appeared to hit a Network 10 cameraman covering the match. He was taken to hospital for scans and follow-up checks.

It was not picked up on the broadcast, but a video from the stands shows the moment that sparked the chaos.

FA said it would commence an investigation and hand down “strong sanctions”. Victory apologised on Saturday night. Micah wasn’t surprised by the latest incident and said all she’d received was an “apology”. Former Adelaide United striker and current Network 10 pundit Bruce Djite said it was hard to see how Australian football could recover and FA needed to “throw the library at Melbourne Victory.” The incident was condemned throughout Australian football, with Matildas captain and Chelsea superstar Sam Kerr writing on Twitter it was a “very sad day for football in Aus”. “Glover has to be careful there, because that is going to cause a bit of a problem,” the commentator said at the time.

After one of the ugliest moments in Australian football history, the game is left wondering how to pick up the pieces as authorities promise major ...

"This is exactly what we don't want here. "Being passionate and loving the game means respecting the game and upholding the rules around it, protecting your fellow spectators and of course your players and all the rest. Former Socceroos captain, and football commentator, Paul Wade said he was "ashamed" by the behaviour of the spectators, who he described as "morons".

Victoria Police have launched Operation Astute and have a number of active enquiries into violence at the A-League Men match in Melbourne.

"What is wrong with people? Earlier, a flare hit a Network 10 cameraman in the back of the head which police said left him with a contusion and burned clothing. During the invasion a man is seen throwing a metal bucket full of sand at the head of City goalkeeper Tom Glover, whose head was cut, requiring stitches and leaving him with a suspected concussion.

Police are investigating a violent pitch invasion at the A-League Men Melbourne derby that left a player, a...

"What is wrong with people? Players from both teams were rushed down the tunnel, while fans were swinging from the goal at the Victory end of the ground. Glover and King were both struck by the metal bucket, which was filled with sand to be able to dispose of flares. Earlier, a flare hit a Network 10 cameraman in the back of the head which police said left him with a contusion and burned clothing. During the invasion a man is seen throwing a metal bucket full of sand at the head of City goalkeeper Tom Glover, whose head was cut, requiring stitches and leaving him with a suspected concussion. Detectives have launched Operation Astute to investigate the invasion which left a player, a referee and a Network 10 cameraman injured.

Football Australia said on Sunday it was considering “strong sanctions” after Melbourne Victory fans invaded the pitch and assaulted Melbourne City goalkeeper ...

As a result, the APL received less money than anticipated from Network 10 this season, and distributions to the 12 clubs were lower as a result. Such a move would mean no fans could attend matches and could affect the value and cost of production for Network 10, whose parent company Paramount signed a five-year $200 million deal with the A-League last year. [ Sign up to get it every weekday morning](https://www.smh.com.au/newsletter-signup?newsletter=business-briefing). Network 10 fully supports a full Football Australia investigation,” the spokesperson said. One of Network 10’s camera operators was hit in the back by a flare, but has since recovered. A Network 10 spokesperson said the actions of a minority group at the Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory match on Saturday night were “unacceptable” and “disappointing”.