Footballing tensions in Victoria have heightened after an incident involving Melbourne Victory fans at Lakeside Stadium during the side’s 1-0 away defeat to South Melbourne.
A brawl early in the second half commenced when a group of Melbourne Victory supporters entered the grandstand designated for South Melbourne, before attempting to take a South Melbourne supporters’ banner and subsequently brawling with security, causing a delay in proceedings.
While Milos Lujic’s 60th minute winner for South Melbourne came not long after the restart, the win was overshadowed by the extensive social media scrutiny at the incident in the aftermath.
Before the contest, arrangements were in place to minimise the chances of supporter incidents. These included an extensive security plan that involved Melbourne Victory, FFV, Blue Thunder Security, the State Sports Centre Trust and Victoria Police.
All South Melbourne associates, including members, supporters, players of all ages and parents, along with Football Federation Victoria (FFV) and Football Federation Australia accredited pass holders were required to enter Lakeside Stadium through the traditional Gate 2 entry point and be based in the SMFC grandstand as per usual NPL protocol.
Meanwhile, Victory fans would be housed in the Victory Grandstand, the opposite side of the pitch. It was an unprecedented move, with that side usually closed off for most other occasions, including major games such as the NPL Grand Final and big NPL rivalries, with away support usually based on the Gate 2 entry side of the grandstand.
All regular Codes of Conduct and the re-iteration of CCTV presence was emphasised by South Melbourne pre-game.
According to a witness account, Melbourne Victory fans were able to gain entry through Gate 2 of the South Melbourne Grandstand side of the ground early in the second half of the contest, reported around 55 minutes.
The fans proceeded to snatch South Melbourne supporters’ Clarendon Corner banner.
This resulted in a scuffle between small handful (reported six to eight) Victory fans and South Melbourne active supporters attempting to get the banner back.
Security (reported three to four guards) became involved, and as that scene unfolded in front of spectators, a larger group of Victory supporters saw the incident and became involved.
Within approximately 20 seconds the Victory block of fans jumped the fence and ran across the north end of the ground, along the athletics track to the South Melbourne side.
As the large scuffle ensued, Victory supporter marshals attempted to restrain their section.
The incident lasted approximately four to five minutes, with the contest stopped for about a minute.
Victory supporters returned across the athletics track and then left the stadium, dislodging a corner flag in the process before it was taken back by a Victory player. It was overheard the stadium was put into lockdown, with Gate 2 on the South Melbourne side locked to prevent anybody else from entering the ground, while ball boys were removed from the pitch for safety reasons.
Victoria police were called and attended, including the police chopper, which remained over lakeside and Clarendon street for approximately 10 minutes.
Other unconfirmed reports involved a South Melbourne member’s car being damaged.
This incident isn’t the first time Victory fans have been involved in a high-profile incident at an NPL Victoria level. Last year, the first season involving youth teams of Victory and City, Victory were fined for an incident that occurred on 28 March in an NPL 1 fixture against Ballarat Red Devils. The club incurred a $1000 fine after a number of flares were let off and a corner flag was taken.
Due to Football Federation Victoria no longer publishing tribunal cases prior to the hearing, and the specific details of each case remaining confidential, little is known if this becomes officially the first potential hearing involving Victory in 2016.
With next week’s fixture seeing Victory host Melbourne Knights at Epping Stadium, attention turns to how security will be managed for another potentially heated occasion, with one possible scenario being a game played closed doors.
Image: Cindy Nitsos