Melbourne Derby fan invasion was an abomination and went far beyond the rights and wrongs of A-Leagues grand final sale
ADAM PEACOCK witnessed first hand the pitch invasion in the 20th minute of the Melbourne Derby on Saturday. It left him feeling ill.
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I feel ill.
Australian football, in the best health it had ever been just weeks ago, is sick.
The symptoms were there for all to see at Saturday night’s Melbourne Derby.
I was there, but then I wasn‘t. As soon as fans rushed the field, that was it.
No thanks.
I left.
Outside the ground, trying to process what had just happened, I stopped at the lights on Batman Avenue and saw three Melbourne Victory fans, two women and a little boy, shaking.
They were at the Victory end. They had a flare fly past. The little boy was frightened. The three were OK, but were deserting AAMI Park. The little boy loves watching football. He had a Victory scarf on. He used to play, but now plays tennis, he told me, still shaking.
He saw things tonight that scared the life out of him, and many others.
This was not football.
This was an abomination.
Many, myself included, believe the decision to take the A-League grand finals to Sydney for the next three years is the wrong one. But two wrongs – one significantly worse than the other – sure as hell don’t make a right.
The game kicked off as usual. Melbourne City were 1-0 up as the moment approached that fans had planned all week. A 20th-minute walkout in protest.
Everyone not in the two active ends at AAMI Park weren’t watching the football. They were watching the fans. Tension was building. City fans had lit five flares and thrown them on to the pitch at various stages, including three after Aiden O’Neill’s opener.
Victory fans were letting off firecrackers and lighting flares.
Banners were unfurled.
At the Victory end, three banners made clear the fans’ position.
APL knows the demands.
Football for the fans.
$$$$$$$
At the City end, three more:
When Money talks.
Fans Will Walk.
APL Out.
It was all fair commentary given the sentiment that had built up since Monday’s grand final sale announcement.
Both sets of fans appreciated the others’ efforts.
City fans headed for the exits.
The pyrotechnics continued from the Victory end.
One hit a Channel 10 cameraman on the back. Smoke flares made it towards City goalkeeper Tom Glover, who stood his ground. Referee Alex King stopped the game.
Glover had another thrown to him, so he threw it back, and it landed over the fence where Victory fans stood at the front.
This set them off and they stormed the pitch, kicking over advertising boards, rushing at Glover. A metal bin full of powder was hurled at Glover, hitting him. Chaos ensued. Victory players tried to stop their fans, asking for calmness. None was forthcoming.
As the players and officials headed for the tunnel, I headed for the exit.
Ill.
This week wasn’t football.
The decision earlier in the week was business, and not everyone agreed with it.
But this was anarchy. Game abandoned.
What happens now, who knows?
No one who loves the game runs on to a pitch and throws a bin at a player.
Earlier in the day, fans in Wellington and Gosford made their point, forcefully without force.
Will this embolden the APL’s decision to move the grand final? Not sure.
Tonight was beyond what is wrong and right.
A match abandoned, a game in uproar and a little boy on Batman Ave trembling.
Will he be back?
Why would he want to?
Adam Peacock attended the game as a guest of Melbourne City FC.
Originally published as Melbourne Derby fan invasion was an abomination and went far beyond the rights and wrongs of A-Leagues grand final sale
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