Melbourne Victory have been fined a record $550,000 by Football Australia following the pitch invasion that caused December's A-League Melbourne derby to be abandoned.
A 10-point suspended deduction has also been imposed on the club, along with restrictions on fan attendance at games, with Victory found to have brought the game into disrepute.
The December 17 game saw flares thrown by both sets of fans during the opening quarter at AAMI Park. Trouble escalated when a flare hit a pitchside cameraman before exploding, with City keeper Tom Glover throwing two flares off the field, one of which landed in the stands.
Fans behind the goal stormed the pitch at that point, and Glover was hit in the face with a metal bucket, while referee Alex King was also struck, leading to the game being brought to an end.
More than 30 people have been charged by Victoria Police, with fans now barred from sitting behind the goals in the North End of AAMI Park for the rest of the season, and no areas at away grounds will be allocated to away supporters for the same duration.
Football Australia (FA) warned in a statement: "The suspended 10-point deduction – ending at the end of the 2025-26 Isuzu UTE A-League season – may be triggered for each instance of serious supporter misconduct during this term and the next three campaigns."
FA said the derby game would resume on April 23 from the 22nd minute, the point at which it was abandoned, with City leading 1-0.
FA CEO James Johnson described the behaviour of the Victory fans who invaded the field as "inexcusable", saying it meant the club "committed a serious breach of our rules and regulations".
"The sanctions we have issued against Melbourne Victory are the heaviest in the A-League era," Johnson said. "These sanctions are reflective of our desire to remove this behaviour, and those that perpetuate it, from our game."
He added: "The field of play is sacred and the safety of our players and match officials is paramount. Those individuals that illegally entered the field of play, caused damage, and verbally and physically assaulted players and officials, crossed the line.
"We have worked closely with Victoria Police to identify these individuals and will continue to do so to ensure those that display anti-social and criminal behaviour at football events are not involved in our game in any way."
Melbourne Victory said they would "comply with all sanctions handed down by FA".
Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style
Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.
Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.
Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.
Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Data Debrief
Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.
It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts.
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
