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Melbourne Victory face the prospect of a points deduction and playing games behind closed doors after Football Australia officially slapped the A-Leagues club with a show cause notice for their fans' violent derby pitch invasion.

Saturday night's A-League Men match was abandoned after fans from the Victory active area stormed the AAMI Park pitch.

Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover was hit by a metal bucket wielded by a pitch invader and referee Alex King was also injured, while a Network 10 cameraman was earlier hit by a flare.

The Australian game's governing body confirmed on Monday Victory would have until 9am AEDT on Wednesday to show why the club "should not face serious sanctions for bringing the game into disrepute through the conduct of its supporters".

FA confirmed repercussions could include "financial penalties, loss of competition points and/or playing matches behind closed doors, or on neutral territory".

"As we made clear on Saturday evening following the abandonment of the match, we will move quickly to properly investigate this matter and where appropriate, issue the strongest possible sanctions to the club and individuals involved," FA chief executive James Johnson said in a statement.

"The show cause notice following our initial investigations is the next step in the process and will allow us to gather more crucial information."

The perpetrators appear likely to receive life bans. As of Sunday, two men had been identified after coming forward to police.

"This is a small group of perpetrators that don't love football, that don't love the A-League and that don't love Melbourne Victory," A-Leagues boss Danny Townsend told Seven Network's Sunrise.

"We've got to weed them out and we've got to make sure that what happened on Saturday night never happens again

"It wasn't just an assault on a player or an official or a cameraman, it was an assault on the football family."

FA has not ruled out sanctions against City or Glover, who tossed a flare thrown onto the pitch by fans back into the crowd, prompting some supporters to storm the field.

Glover returned to training on Monday with dressing protecting the stitches used to repair a "severe laceration" on the side of his face.

The goalkeeper, who also suffered concussion, expressed disappointment over the position Australian football now finds itself in, just two weeks after the Socceroos' impressive World Cup run ended.

"The incident is disappointing for Australian football itself," Glover told the Nine Network.

"The Socceroos were unbelievable and (we were) hopefully riding the wave of that, but a small minority kind of ruins it."

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At least two of the nine men being sought by police over Saturday's violent pitch invasion at the A-League Men Melbourne derby have made themselves known to investigators.

The storming of AAMI Park during the clash between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City left a player, a referee and TV cameraman injured.

Images of nine men released on Sunday night showed one holding a bucket of sand, another holding a lit flare in the stands and another hanging from a goalpost.

Two men have now been identified after coming forward to police, Victoria Police confirmed in a statement on Sunday evening. No arrests have been made so far.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the scenes from Saturday night were shameful and condemned the violence.

He warned the "cowardly" pitch invaders yet to hand themselves in to police, they would feel the full force of the law and soccer authorities.

"That's a venue that's owned by every single Victorian and I think the vast, vast majority of Victorians would have been sickened, as I was, to see that," Mr Andrews told reporters on Monday.

Asked about possible reputational damage from the ugly scenes ahead of Australia hosting the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, Mr Andrews said most Victorian major event crowds didn't behave that way.

"That's why it's so jarring. That's why it's such an affront," he said.

On Sunday, Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Jason Goddard branded the behaviour of the alleged pitch invaders as "disgraceful".

The chaotic scenes resulted in the game being abandoned in the 20th minute, with one man seen throwing a metal bucket full of sand used to dispose of flares.

The bucket hit the head of City goalkeeper Tom Glover, who suffered a cut to his head requiring stitches and leaving him with a suspected concussion.

Referee Alex King, who went to protect Glover, was also struck by the bucket.

A flare had earlier hit the Network 10 TV cameraman in the back of the head, which police said left him with a contusion and burned clothing.

The outbreak of violence made worldwide news and Victory issued a late-night apology to those affected.

Both sets of fans had planned to walk out at the 20-minute mark as part of a protest over the Australian Professional Leagues' decision to sell the next three grand finals to Sydney.

The crowd chanted "f*** the APL" while unfurling banners pre-game and during the match, and throwing flares onto the playing arena.

But the situation escalated when a flare from the Victory active area hit the cameraman and exploded, and Glover picked up another flare off the ground and threw it back into the stands.

Football Australia, which manages judiciary matters, has promised heavy penalties and "strong sanctions" against those found to be responsible, while also issuing a show cause notice to Victory.

The club has until 9am AEDT on Wednesday to show why it "should not face serious sanctions for bringing the game into disrepute through the conduct of its supporters".

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Lionel Messi's once-in-a-generation career is complete. The Argentina superstar is finally a World Cup champion.

Messi scored twice and converted in a penalty shootout too, carrying his side to victory over France after the greatest final in the competition's history ended in a 3-3 draw after extra time in Qatar on Sunday.

"It's anyone's childhood dream," Messi said after hoisting the trophy.

"It's madness ... look how she (the World Cup) is, she's gorgeous. I wanted her so much. I had a vision that this would be the one ... she was getting closer."

Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick for France - the first treble in a men's final for 56 years - as the world's top two players shone in a wondrous duel in the Lusail Stadium near Doha.

Both men scored in the shootout too but Argentina prevailed 4-2 to lift the World Cup for the third time, with Gonzalo Montiel netting the clinching penalty to spark scenes of celebration in the stadium.

Argentina keeper Emiliano Martinez proved their hero again, saving Kingsley Coman's penalty before Aurelien Tchouameni fired wide to give Argentina their first world title since 1986.

"This is my dream," said Martinez, who also won the Golden Glove as the tournament's best goalkeeper.

"It was a game where we suffered. There could not have been a World Cup that I have dreamed of like this."

France had come from two goals down to level, with Mbappe netting twice in two minutes - first with an 80th-minute penalty and then a dazzling volley.

The France striker completed his hat-trick in the 118th minute with another spot-kick after Messi had bundled in what had looked likely to be the winner shortly before.

Earlier, Argentina had dominated, going 2-0 up in the first half with Messi, making a record-breaking 26th World Cup appearance, converting a 23rd-minute penalty.

They struck again with a sublime four-pass counter-attack, Alexis Mac Allister's cutback finding Angel Di Maria, who finished well.

In a final of extraordinary twists and turns, Mbappe became only the second man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final following Geoff Hurst's treble for England in their 1966 victory over West Germany.

"We came back from the brink, that's what gives us so many regrets," France coach Didier Deschamps said.

But it was Messi's day as the Argentina captain, considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all-time, was at last able to lift the one trophy that had eluded him.

The diminutive No.10 is now definitively in the pantheon of soccer's greatest-ever players, alongside Pele - a record three-time World Cup champion with Brazil - and Diego Maradona, the late Argentina great with whom Messi has so often been compared.

Here, Messi achieved what Maradona did in 1986, dominating a World Cup for Argentina - even though, at 35, he was 10 years older than 'El Diego' was when shooting them to the title in Mexico.

"I wanted to close my career with this, I can no longer ask for anything else," Messi said, before adding he has no intention of hanging up his boots just yet.

"I love football and I want to continue living a few more games being world champion."

The torch will one day pass to Mbappe, whose late goals transformed the match and earned him the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer - but not yet.

As he waited to pick up the World Cup, Messi rubbed his hands in glee before collecting the trophy and joining his adoring teammates, for whom he has become even more of icon over the past month.

For as he lifted the biggest trophy in sport to the heavens, this was always going to be remembered as Messi's World Cup.

With Reuters, AP

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