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Saturday, December 24, 2022

Ticket sales to local Melbourne Victory games frozen by Football Australia, pending sanctions - ABC News

Melbourne Victory fans will be barred and restricted from attending matches while Football Australia weighs up financial sanctions for the club over last week's violent pitch invasion at AAMI Park.

In a statement, Football Australia (FA) said ticket sales for Melbourne Victory matches held in Victoria were frozen from 11am on Friday.

No Melbourne Victory fans will be able to attend the Boxing Day match against Western United as a result of the restrictions.

The governing body said Melbourne Victory would bear the costs of any refund charges from ticket operators.

Only members and supporters of the opposing team will be allowed to attend away games involving Melbourne Victory while FA finalises penalties against the club.

All home and away active bays, where fans are encouraged to demonstrate support for their team, will be closed for Melbourne Victory home games played in Victoria.

"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," Football Australia CEO James Johnson said.

A bleeding Tom Glover of Melbourne City is escorted from the pitch during an A-League Men's soccer match.
Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover received minor injuries on Saturday when he was allegedly struck by a metal bucket full of sand.(AAP: Will Murray)

Mr Johnson said the first wave of sanctions would remain in place until January 15 and he expected the governing body would finalise the show cause process in about a week.

He said he did not want to see long-running sanctions that affected the "large majority" of Melbourne Victory fans who were not involved in the pitch invasion.

"There are many, many good Melbourne Victory fans," he said.

"Many are families and children and parents who just want to go to a football match with their family and enjoy the game."

Melbourne Victory hopes for swift resolution of penalties

FA issued the show cause notice to Melbourne Victory earlier this week, compelling it to argue why it should not face serious sanctions for bringing the game into disrepute through the conduct of its supporters.

In a statement, Melbourne Victory said it would comply with all the sanctions handed down so far by FA and was working for a speedy resolution to the show cause notice so the football community could "move forward together".

"Melbourne Victory would like to take this opportunity to again reiterate that the actions witnessed at last Saturday night's match have no place at Melbourne Victory or in football," the statement said.

"There is zero tolerance for any aggressive or anti-social behaviour at this Club and in this game."

The supporter restrictions announced on Friday apply to the men's A-League team and will not affect women's A-League matches.

Nearly 30 people arrested over pitch invasion

Victoria Police said 29 people have been arrested out of 36 identified as linked to the violent event that left a goalkeeper, the referee, two security guards and a cameraman injured.

A three-panel image of three photos of men on the field.
Police have released more images of men they wish to speak to over the pitch invasion.(Supplied: Victoria Police)

"Detectives are continuing to appeal for public assistance in relation to criminal damage and release of flares and missiles including chairs, buckets and bottles during the pitch invasion," police said in a statement.

A three-panel image of three photos of men on a sporting field.
Police still wish to speak to a number of people as part of their investigation.(Supplied: Victoria Police)

Of those arrested, 24 have been charged, with the remainder still being investigated or released with a fine or caution.

Many of the charges laid relate to lighting flares, riotous behaviour and violent disorder, after fans from the Melbourne Victory active area spilled onto the pitch.

Heavy police presence planned for next Melbourne Victory game

Police said there would be a "highly visible police presence" at AAMI Park for Monday's match between Melbourne Victory and Western United.

"Police were appalled by last weekend's pitch invasion and have laid a number of charges on those involved in the incident for violent disorder, criminal damage and assault," the statement said.

A three-panel image of three men on a sporting field.
Anyone with information about last week's pitch invasion is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.(Supplied: Victoria Police)

"This should send a very clear message that police will not tolerate this kind of behaviour at sporting matches."

"We will once again be closely monitoring the behaviour of individuals and we will not hesitate to take swift action against any anti-social or criminal behaviour."

Football Australia has issued two lifetime bans to fans allegedly involved in the fracas, which caused last week's Melbourne Derby match to be suspended.

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Ticket sales to local Melbourne Victory games frozen by Football Australia, pending sanctions - ABC News
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