Dean Bouzanis faces ban over alleged racist slur at Besart Berisha

Melbourne City goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis has a lengthy ban hanging over his head following an alleged racist remark.

Melbourne Victory’s Besart Berisha taunts Melbourne City goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis after an own goal. Picture: George Salpigtidis

Melbourne City goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis has a lengthy ban hanging over his head following allegations he racially abused Mel­bourne Victory’s Besart Berisha during the manic last five minutes of Saturday night’s derby.

Bouzanis allegedly called Berisha a “f..king gypsy” as the two clashed after Victory were awarded what turned out to be the winning goal late in the come-from-behind 2-1 win at Etihad Stadium.

Melbourne City went into damage control yesterday, issuing a formal apology over the actions of Bouzanis, who will learn later today whether he will be cited by the match review panel.

Under the table of offences and suspensions, the A-League regulations state that a player guilty of the use of “discriminatory language and/or gestures, including racist, religious, ethnic or sexist”, could receive a minimum four additional matches, plus the mandatory match suspension. Football Federation Australia will have their work cut out sorting the aftermath of a Melbourne derby that will go down as one of the most bitter and controversial of recent times.

The incident was just part of an almost out-of-control final five minutes that saw Victory score twice in two minutes and City’s Tim Cahill, who was a substitute, red-carded while he was waiting to come on in the final minutes.

Cahill will automatically be suspended for one week, but could face an extra week or two depending on the referee’s report.

Victory’s winner came via an own goal from City defender Manny Muscat and was the catalyst for some of the craziest scenes witnessed in the 12-year history of the A-League.

The goal was initially denied by the linesman, who ruled Berisha was offside and had interfered with play. However, amid protests from players from both sides, referee Chris Beath eventually overruled the assistant and allowed it to stand.

It resulted in several minutes of mayhem that led to the Bouzanis-Berisha confrontation and even­tually saw an incredulous Cahill sent off, allegedly for dissent. Beath issued a red and four yellow cards in the last four minutes, including three bookings in the 90th minute.

Bouzanis and Berisha had been involved in an exchange of words earlier in the match after the City goalkeeper had guessed correctly to save a penalty from the Victory striker.

When the winning goal was awarded, Berisha picked up the ball and threw it at Bouzanis, who raged back with a verbal tirade.

With Bouzanis likely to face serious consequences, City issued a statement in which they admitted the keeper made the remarks “out of ignorance”. It read: “Melbourne City have offered an immediate apology to Melbourne Victory for the player’s actions and will make a formal apology to Melbourne Victory and the player today.

“Bouzanis admitted making the remarks out of ignorance; however, has since understood the seriousness of his comments. Once informed of the gravity of his actions, Bouzanis committed to redressing the offence at the earliest opportunity. “As such, he will issue a formal and personal apology to the player and begin an appropriate educational course to rectify the gaps in his understanding. The club regrets the incident and any offence caused.”

However, City’s swift response is unlikely to save Bouzanis, with FFA expected to come down ­heavily if the allegation is proven.

There have been a number of incidents involving verbal abuse in the A-League over the years.

Newcastle’s Stuart Musialik was given a one-match ban after being found guilty of language that was found abusive but not racist following an exchange with Victory’s Reddy Vargas in 2009. It was understood at the time that Musialik admitted to using the word “monkey”, but not in a racist sense.

Western Sydney striker Brendon Santalab was cleared of allegations of racial and religious abuse against Sydney FC’s Ali Abbas in 2014 after two lengthy hearings. FFA said there was a lack of evidence.

Joel Griffiths was suspended for three games after admitting he racially abused a linesman while playing for Sydney FC in 2013.

Griffiths asked on Twitter yesterday: “Interesting what @FFA and the MRP will do regarding Bouzanis. What’s worse GYPSY or WOG?” Victory assistant coach Jean-Paul de Marigny and City coach Michael Valkanis declined to comment on the incident.

And they were equally reluctant to do so regarding the drama surrounding the winning goal.

“There were some contentious decisions that I don’t want to speak about now,” Valkanis said. “I will have to look at the video and take it from there.”

Of the Cahill incident, Valkanis said he was unsure what had happened. “Some things happened I have never seen in my football career,” he said. “I’m not sure what happened. You’d have to ask the referee.”