The A-League Men Melbourne derby fell into turmoil after fans flooded the field during ugly scenes at AAMI Park, leaving City goalkeeper Tom Glover with a bloody nose and the game abandoned for player safety reasons.
Aiden O’Neill’s goal in the 11th minute put league-leading City ahead, and in the 22nd minute of the game, unrest broke out. Both sets of fans had been tossing flares onto the field, but the situation escalated when a flare seemed to strike a Channel 10 cameraman, and then burst when Glover picked up another flare and flung it back into the stands.
Blood was drawn from Glover’s face when a metal bucket intended to dispose of flares was thrown at him as fans swamped the field. The referee, who was covered in powder from the bucket, had no choice but to pull the players from the field and halt the game, which was eventually called off.
It follows a day of protests by A-League Men supporters in response to the Australian Professional Leagues’ contentious decision to sell the hosting rights to Sydney for the next three years.
Both groups of active fans planned to leave the game at the 20-minute mark, creating a tense environment during the first 20 minutes of the game. Both sets of spectators began chanting “screw the APL” immediately following the conclusion of the preceding A-League Women’s game. Victory and City supporters displayed banners expressing their unhappiness with the A-League before the match and during the first half.
Victory supporters detonated small pyrotechnics followed by flares, while their goalkeeper Paul Izzo had to assist in the disposal of flares thrown by City supporters.
At the 20-minute mark of their match against Sydney FC at Gosford Stadium, Central Coast Mariners supporters exited the stadium while holding a banner calling for APL chief executive Danny Townsend to go.
At McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, Jets supporters left the stadium during the first half of their match against Brisbane Roar, carrying a banner that said: “fans>$$.”
