Western United vs Melbourne Victory

Victory star Nani was surrounded by almost 20 police as he entered AAMI Stadium and officers patrolled along Olympic Boulevard before the club's first ...

In the stadium, the Victory’s active end was covered in a tarp and the first five rows of seats at both ends of the ground were blocked off and covered with a crowd of a few thousand fans scattered around the stadium. Glover is expected to take his place in the side against Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park on Tuesday night after he was concussed and suffered a cut to the head after a bucket of sand was allegedly thrown at him during the pitch invasion. One fan in Victory colours was spotted walking away from the stadium about 90 minutes before kickoff and one Victory scarf was seen on a fan’s bag, but United were allowed to admit up to 1000 people on complimentary passes if they were on an approved Football Australia list. Normally, the front of the stadium would be a sea of supporters in Victory’s navy blue but, instead, the blue and fluoro green of the state’s police force took its place as More than 30 officers were noticeable around the front of AAMI Park pre-game along with multiple vans and others placed in and around the venue as Western, who were the home side, won despite losing Nikolai Topor-Stanley to a red card in the 32nd minute. A heavy police presence was the only navy blue on show as Melbourne Victory resumed play in the A-League Men’s competition with a 1-0 loss to reigning champions Western United on Monday night.