A-League boss Danny Townsend has denied that Australian football has a culture of poor crowd behaviour as police laid charges in connection with a violent pitch invasion that left a player and referee injured during the abandoned Melbourne derby.
Photo: AAP / www.photosport.nz
A bleeding Tom Glover of Melbourne City is escorted from the pitch during the A-League Men's soccer match between Melbourne City and the Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park in Melbourne, Saturday, December 17, 2022.
Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover was concussed after being struck in the face by a metal bucket full of sand and referee Alex King suffered a cut to his head as fans from the Victory end stormed onto the pitch on Saturday.
The incident follows fans making Nazi salutes and shouting over an Indigenous welcoming ceremony at Western Sydney Stadium in October during the Australia Cup final.
Amid accusations from media pundits that the league and clubs have failed to rein in unruly supporters, Townsend said Australian soccer did not have a culture problem.
"Not at all," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"When you look back at the last 10 years, our fans have been largely well behaved.
"What happened on Saturday was unacceptable - they weren't football fans, they were individuals who used that platform to demonstrate their own illegal behaviours."
Police said they had charged three men on Monday, including a 23-year-old alleged to have struck Glover on the head with the bucket.
A 19-year-old and 18-year-old were charged for separate alleged assaults on Glover, with the former also accused of assaulting a security guard.
Police said the three had been bailed to appear in court on 27 February.
Glover returned to training on Monday with his head bandaged and said the pitch invasion at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium was "disappointing for football".
"The police investigation is doing its thing, for me, it's just about getting back on the pitch and being ready for next week," he told the Nine Network.
The pitch invasion came days after the A-League announced a deal to sell its men's and women's title-deciding Grand Finals to Sydney until 2025, a decision that triggered a major fan backlash.
Hosting rights for Grand Finals were previously given to the top-finishing teams.
Townsend defended the move, saying the league needed to explain its reasoning.
"Difficult decisions are often unpopular so we need to make sure (fans) understand we have the best interests of the game at heart," he said.
-Reuters