Football Australia has made its final decision on the reason for the show statement given to A-Leagues club Melbourne Victory following the 17 December derby field invasion, described as «the darkest day in Australian football».
Chief executive James Johnson announced on Tuesday that Victory would face «significant sporting and financial sanctions» as a result of the incident.
Financial penalties total $550,000, consisting of $450,000 in fines and compensation and $100,000 in lost revenue due to sports penalties applied.
Sporting sanctions require the club to block access to certain seats behind the goals and otherwise restrict AAMI Park’s North End seating to registered club members for the remainder of the 2022-23 A-League Men’s season and the 2022-23 A-League. Latest Series Menu.
It also includes an instruction that dedicated club supporter seats will not be provided for the club’s away games for the remainder of the season.
Football Australia also announced a suspended 10 competition point deduction for the next three seasons, which will take effect in the event of further incidents in Victory matches.
The affected match will be played again in April.
Individual and club sanctions were awarded in the three weeks following the halfway game, when Melbourne City goalkeeper Thomas Glover and referee Alex King attacked with a metal bucket and caused approximately $150,000 worth of damage to the ground.
To date, 17 people have been suspended from football, some for several years, others for life, and some spectators have been reported by Victoria Police.
Preliminary sanctions were subsequently imposed on Victory, including the suspension of ticket sales for home games, the closure of the club’s active support end, and restrictions on those who can participate in both home and away games until a specified date.
Tensions between active fans and A-Leagues’ managers were already high after the Australian Professional Leagues’ (APL) decision to sell their grand final hosting rights to Sydney, and the pitch invasion dampened the largely peaceful protests from other actives. fan groups in leagues.
Live updates, reactions and contributions from ABC readers.
Football Australia: When individuals cross the line, ‘we must focus on solving this’
Football Australia CEO James Johnson said the pitch is «a workplace for our players and referees».
«It’s a very sacred place in sports, and when individuals cross that line, we have to focus on solving that problem,» he says.
«And that’s what these sanctions focus on.»
We’ll leave the afternoon’s press conference here.
As we heard recently, sports sanctions suspended the ten-point deduction that «could be triggered for any serious instance of fan misconduct.»
“If a spectator rushes onto the field, there is an attack, there is automatically a ten-point deduction, and if that happens, it destroys the city of Melbourne Victory,” says Mr Johnson.
«So the logic is to put the responsibility on the spectators to help us help the club self-regulate, because if any of their colleagues did that, it would be disastrous for Melbourne Victory.»
Football Australia CEO James Johnson provides a breakdown.
He said he was given a $150,000 fine and a $100,000 suspended sentence.
“There is AUD$150,000 in damage caused by victory spectators to LED displays in the stadium.
“There will be an additional $50,000 payable to APL for replays, and a future loss of ticket revenue of at least $100,000 as a result of applicable sports sanctions.
«This is how we arrive at a total of $550,000 in financial losses.»
Mr Johnson said Football Australia would set up and lead a task force that would «involve various stakeholders and experts from Victoria and NSW Police and host venues».
The mandate for the task force will be «soon to be defined» and will include:
Develop measures to curb the use of flares and reduce the entry of flares into venues
Discover areas of improvement for security and policing venues
review supporter contact and use of Marshall education
review of active support ticket and member requirements, and review of pre-match fan walks
Football Australia CEO James Johnson said today’s sanctions «reflect our desire to remove this behavior from the sport».
«The scenes in the Melbourne derby were the worst ever seen in Australian football during the A League era,» he says.
«We cannot allow this to happen again in our game. Therefore, we believe that a strong sanction, both financially and sportingly, is necessary and justified in these circumstances.
These sanctions reflect our desire to remove this behavior, and especially those who do so, from the sport, and we want them removed from our sport.»
Australian Football said the 8th Round match between Melbourne City FC and Melbourne Victory FC in December will be played again from the 22nd minute in April.
«He would start with a 1-0 score against Melbourne City, that was the score and the exact moment the game was interrupted,» Johnson says.
Total financial sanctions $550,000including $450,000 fine and damageAnnual $100,000 lost revenue Due to the sporting sanctions applied.
Sporting sanctions:
Require the club to block access to certain seats behind the goals for the remainder of the 2022-23 A-League Men’s season and the 2022-23 A-League Men’s Finals Series, and otherwise limit seats in the North End of AAMI Park to registered club members; and
Include an instruction that dedicated club supporter seats will not be provided for club away games for the remainder of the 2022-23 A-League Men’s season and the 2022-23 A-League Men’s Finals Series.
«Sports sanctions include a suspended ten (10) point deduction that may be triggered for any serious case of fan misconduct this season and the next three seasons, which will expire at the conclusion of the 2025-26 Men’s A-League season.» says Australia.
Football Australia CEO james johnson speaking now.
He said the incident in December «shocked» the football community.
“In line with individual judicial processes, Football Australia also issued a cause for show notice to Melbourne Victory on 19 December,” he says.
«Club Responded to the reason for the show on 21 December and provided more information for Football Australia.»
“Australian Football has found that Melbourne Victory has tarnished the reputation of the game following unacceptable behavior during the match by the club’s active supporters,” says Mr Johnson.
It’s not the first time the FA has had problems with Melbourne Victory, he says.
-also 1:00pm AEST/14:00pm AEDTCEO of Football Australia james johnson then he will give the final determination and punishment Melbourne Derby field invasion.
