A-League ‘bucket man’ Alex Agelopoulos pleads guilty to violent disorder

A man who smashed a goalie in the face with a bucket during the AAMI Park pitch invasion last year could face jail over the incident.

Bucketman Alex Agelopoulos pleaded guilty to violent disorder for his part in the AAMI Park pitch invasion. Picture: Nicki Connolly

A-League “bucket man”, who smashed a goalie in the face during a disgraceful pitch invasion at AAMI Park last year, has pleaded guilty to violent disorder and could face jail.

Alex Agelopoulos, 23, of Northcote, admitted to the crime in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

Terrifying footage was played to the court of the moment Agelopoulos and fellow hooligans stormed the soccer pitch.

During a minute of madness, the court heard Agelopoulos threw a bucket which struck Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover.

Alex Agelopoulos with bucket during the ordeal.

Agelopoulos pleaded guilty to the crime. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Glover was taken to hospital with concussion and needed ten stitches to his head.

Defence lawyer Dermot Dann KC fought to spare his client jail, saying the publicity surrounding the pitch invasion had already greatly impacted Agelopoulos’s life.

“Our client has become the face of this episode,” he said.

“When you look up his name you will find ‘bucket man’.”

Mr Dann asked the judge to impose a Community Correction Order on Agelopoulos, citing his age and desire for rehabilitation.

Urging Magistrate Rosemary Falla to impose a jail sentence, prosecutor Anthony Albore cited the unprecedented nature of the incident.

Such an event had “rarely if ever occurred” in Australian sports history, Albore said.

“A clear message needs to be sent by this court that this type of offending will not be tolerated.”

Agelopoulos will return to court to learn his fate on August 29.