Melbourne Victory pitch crasher allegedly coward punched an Adelaide United fan in November
The partner of an Adelaide United fan who was allegedly coward punched last month by the same thug who invaded the pitch at AAMI Park has taken aim at victim blamers.
SA News
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An Adelaide United fan who had his skull and jaw broken in a cowardly bashing, has told police that his attacker was one of the thugs who allegedly invaded the pitch at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Paul Sutcliffe, 24, from the Adelaide Hills said he was king hit by a Melbourne Victory fan who struck him in the face outside the Lions Arts Factory on North Terrace just after 10pm on November 11 after a United and Victory game.
“The doctor said my cheekbone had turned to gravel,” Mr Sutcliffe said.
His partner, Elena Téa has also taken to social media to condemn the “toxic sports culture and one punch attacks” and hit back at victim blamers.
Ms Téa posted a video to TikTok saying this sort of violence is an issue that is still “pervasive”.
“To the people saying he must have done something to provoke the attack — the last I checked, crossing the road, even running across the road which he was to avoid cars, does not warrant being punched,” she said.
“Wearing an Adelaide United scarf, does not warrant being punched.
“Even if he had said something, even if he that happened, nothing warrants a one punch hit.
“These things can be fatal and they so often area.
“I’m speechless,” she said.
“I have had so many lovely messages and comments from people wishing Paul well and it’s devastating to hear how many people can related to his story and know people who haven’t been as lucky as he has,” Ms Téa said on TikTok.
Mr Sutcliffe, who was wearing an Adelaide United scarf, said he noticed a group of Melbourne Victory supporters on North Tce.
“I changed my path as I didn’t want any trouble,” Mr Sutcliffe said.
“One of them then ran onto the road, approached me and punched me in the face. I immediately fell to the ground.”
His friends rushed to help him, the group of Victory supporters leaving the scene.
“My friends were really upset and told the Victory supporter that he was out of line.
“I was then taken to Royal Hospital Adelaide and doctors later found that I had three fractures to my skull and required surgery. I also had bruising on my face and a bloodshot eye.”
Mr Sutcliffe said he and his friends recognised the man who attacked him on a TikTok video after a gang of hoons ran onto the pitch at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
“He was definitely one of the men captured invading the pitch on Saturday night. I have reported the incident to police as this type of violence has no place in football.
“It’s really sad because these hooligans are part of a minority group that don’t represent all the fans.” he said.
In an Instagram post, Ms Téa wrote, “He is lucky to be alive. According to a 2019 study, 127 people in Australia have died from a king hit since 2000. This number does not include those who survived the punch but were left severely physically or mentally disabled, or the people who were killed by multiple physical attacks, or the people like Paul who luckily survived but will live with the trauma of this event for the rest of their lives.
“A split second decision by a terrible human, over something that should have been a happy occasion like a soccer match, has resulted in so much pain for Paul and all of the people close to him.”
Elena wrote that Mr Sutcliffe suffered pain for weeks while the person who attacked him went home safely.
“His cheekbone was horribly fractured in multiple places, and he had to have surgery to insert four plates into his face to hold his cheek up again, the doctor saying the punch rendered his bone to gravel. All throughout this, Paul has been the kindest, most loving person to all the nurses, hospital workers, police, friends and everyone he has interacted with. I am beyond grateful that he is alive, I don’t know where I or any of the people closest to him would be without his beautiful and fun energy, and I am so grateful to use his story to bring awareness to this issue. Every single one of these one-punch attacks is completely preventable. We NEED to change this toxic culture that surrounds sport.”
Elena also posted a two and a half minute long TikTok video detailing the incident and reading from her Instagram post In the video, Elena hold back tears after saying “my boyfriend is lucky to be alive.”
The Instagram post and TikTok video have together received about 5,000 likes and hundreds of comments of support.
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