MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A-League boss Danny Townsend has denied that Australian soccer has a culture of poor crowd behaviour as police continued investigations into a pitch invasion that left a player and a referee injured during the abandoned Melbourne derby.
Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover was concussed after being struck in the face by a metal bucket and referee Alex King suffered a cut to his head as fans from the Victory end stormed onto the pitch on Saturday.
Amid accusations from media pundits that the league and clubs have failed to rein in unruly supporters, Townsend said Australian soccer did not have a culture problem."When you look back at the last 10 years, our fans have been largely well behaved. "What happened on Saturday was unacceptable - they weren't football fans, they were individuals who used that platform to demonstrate their own illegal behaviours."
"The police investigation is doing its thing, for me, it’s just about getting back on the pitch and being ready for next week," he told the Nine Network.
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