Melbourne Victory has been handed initial penalties but is yet to feel the full wrath of Football Australia for the ugly scenes that caused the abandonment of last weekend’s Melbourne derby.
As a result of the violence at Aami Park on Saturday night, tickets will be not sold for Victory’s A-League Men games until 15 January and only valid club members will be allowed to attend home matches. Active support bays for both Victory and away fans will be closed while the show cause process is fully worked through, FA said in a statement on Friday.
Active supporter bays for Victory’s upcoming away games will also be closed and only members of the home team will be permitted to enter the venue.
Any potential points deductions or fines are yet to be announced but when announcing the initial sanctions, FA said it hoped to give short-term confidence to stakeholders in the game.
A decision on the result of the match is yet to be made. City were leading 1-0 when the game was called off in the 22nd minute last week.
“Whilst we continue our very thorough investigation following the inexcusable scenes witnessed at the Melbourne derby, Football Australia has issued Melbourne Victory with a series of strong sanctions which will need to be implemented to enable their participation in both the A-League Men’s and A-League Women’s competitions until a final show cause determination is made,” the FA chief executive, James Johnson, said.
“These sanctions come into immediate effect starting with Melbourne Victory’s A-League Men’s match on Boxing Day away to Western United, and follow the sanctions issued against individuals earlier this week as part of a package of sanctions in response to the incidents witnessed at the Melbourne derby last weekend.
“These measures are an essential step for Football Australia, as it considers further sporting and financial sanctions that may apply to Melbourne Victory in the show cause determination process.”
Victory’s managing director, Caroline Carnegie, said on Friday: “I know it’s tough, it’s not what we want. We want our members and fans in the stadium. But first and foremost we want everybody to feel safe about coming to football matches and we understand the sanctions are part of the healing process to get there.”
Carnegie called on supporters to “cop” the penalties and not try to circumvent them.
The violent scenes at Aami Park saw about 150 spectators storm the pitch and resulted in injuries to City goalkeeper Thomas Glover, the match offical Alex King, a camera operator and two security guards.
Glover sustained a cut to his face after a metal bucket was thrown at him, while police estimated $150,000 worth of damage was done to the stadium after about 80 flares or fireworks were set off.
FA had promised swift action and by Thursday, 10 people who invaded the pitch had been issued with bans. The two most serious alleged offenders were given life bans from attending or participating in football.
Victoria police announced on Friday that 29 people had been arrested as part of Operation Astute with 24 charged. Police had identified 36 people in total from the incident as they continued to make inquiries.
FA is walking a fine line with the sanctions. It said earlier in the week it did not want to cripple the club over the actions of a small group of supporters but also couldn’t send a weak message over the pitch invasion.
“Football Australia does not wish to penalise football fans during this time; however, our priority is to ensure the safety and enjoyment of everyone within the venue on match days and that any unacceptable behaviour by spectators is not repeated at any football match or event ever again,” Johnson said. “We believe these measures will achieve this.”
FA confirmed on Friday it was reviewing the conduct of some City fans and in the meantime had directed the club to cordon off their home and away active bays until advised otherwise.
The sanctions come on the same day as five upcoming A-League games were postponed or given delayed kick-offs to avoid extreme heat forecasts in Adelaide and Melbourne.
