Football Australia vows to find wild fans

Football Australia plans to use the full force of its powers to sanction individuals involved in the A-League Men Melbourne derby pitch invasion that delivered one of Australian sport’s darkest nights.

Fans from the Melbourne Victory active area rushed the pitch soon 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 he was struck by a metal bucket.

Both sets of fans had been throwing flares onto the playing arena.

But the situation escalated when a flare appeared to hit a Network 10 cameraman, then exploded when Glover picked another one off the ground and threw it back into the stands.

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. The club later said he suffered a suspected concussion.

Players from both teams were quickly rushed down the tunnel and the game was paused before officials made the decision to abandon the fixture.

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.

Fans across the competition were protesting the league’s decision to sell the next three grand finals to Sydney.

Both sets of fans started “f*** the APL” chants immediately after the preceding A-League Women’s game finished.

Victory and City fans each unfurled banners pre-game and as the half unfolded, referencing their displeasure with the APL.

Victory fans let off small fireworks then flares, while their goalkeeper Paul Izzo had to help dispose of flares thrown by City fans.

The game then descended into chaos.

City led 1-0 when the game stopped, courtesy of Aiden O’Neill’s goal in the 11th minute.

The horrific scenes quickly drew widespread criticism on an ugly night for the sport.

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”.

FA chief executive James Johnson is due to address the media on Sunday morning, as is Victory managing director Caroline Carnegie.

An FA spokesperson said the game’s governing body would use the full force of its regulatory and disciplinary powers in the investigation.

They said there were a lot of people coming forward to Victoria Police to help with identifying individuals. “Enough is enough,” the spokesperson added.

It is unclear what the situation means for plans for Victory’s A-League Women team to play Newcastle and Western United to host Western Sydney at AAMI Park on Sunday.

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”.

“Our game is in tatters. An absolute disgrace what happened tonight,” Socceroos and Central Coast goalkeeper Danny Vukovic said on Twitter.

“Irreparable damage done. Darkest day for football in Australia.” (AAP)