Six days after Melbourne Victory fans' violent derby pitch invasion, Football Australia (FA) is set to hand down heavy sanctions to the A-League club.
Points deductions, heavy fines and playing home games behind closed doors all appear on the table after about 150 spectators stormed the AAMI Park pitch in Saturday night's A-League Men match against Melbourne City.
City goalkeeper Tom Glover, referee Alex King, a TV cameraman and two security guards were injured in the melee, which forced the abandonment of the match.
FA confirmed on Thursday, when they slapped another eight pitch invaders with bans between five and 20 years in length, they intended to provide an update on Victory on Friday.
Two pitch invaders had on Tuesday received life bans from attending or participating in football.
Victory responded to the FA show cause notice on Wednesday.
FA run the judiciary process for the A-League Men and Women competitions.
It is a difficult proposition for FA, who need to balance coming down hard on Victory and adequately holding them to account without crippling the club financially and heavily punishing the majority of good fans.
The game's governing body will also need to decide how to handle Western United's home game against Victory at AAMI Park on Boxing Day, especially in terms of fan attendance.
United would have counted on Monday's game as one of their big earners and largest crowds of the season.
Four men allegedly responsible for attacks on Glover, the cameraman and security guards have already been charged by Victoria Police.
Another nine people, aged between 17 and 28, are facing a range of police charges including criminal damage and disrupting a match.
A total of 36 people have so far been identified by police.
About $150,000 worth of damage was caused to AAMI Park during the pitch invasion and about 80 flares or fireworks were set off, police say.
FA also need to decide whether the result will stand.
City were leading 1-0 before the match was abandoned.
© AAP 2022