Women's World Cup organisers to "weed out" violent Melbourne pitch invaders | OneFootball

Football Australia chief executive James Johnson has insisted there should be no safety concerns over the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Johnson was queried about safety issues after a violent pitch invasion during last weekend’s A-League clash between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park.

Fans were set to protest the decision to sell the A-League Grand Final to Sydney for the next three years, but the situation quickly escalated.

Flares were thrown from the crowd into the pitch, with City goalkeeper Tom Glover picking one up and launching it back into the stands. This elicited an angry response from the Melbourne supporters, who stormed onto the field.

Glover was hit in the head with a bucket, and had to be taken to hospital for stitches.

The violence comes seven months before Australia is set to host the Women’s World Cup with Australia, with AAMI Park included as one of 10 venues.

Johnson subsequently stressed that there was no need to be concerned about safety during the tournament.

Video: Watch violent pitch invasion during Melbourne derby

What did James Johnson say about the Women’s World Cup?

“We will be moving swiftly and we will be taking the strongest sanctions that are available,” said Johnson.

“This is an element that goes beyond football. It’s an element that infiltrates our game and that really tried to ruin it for the two million people who love our sport.

“It’s those people that we will be targeting in this investigation and who we will weed out of the sport.”

Johnson admitted that there was an issue with flares in Australian football, but as a whole it is “very safe”.

“There is an issue with flares entering stadiums that we do need to look at,” he said.

“This does not happen at local football, it doesn’t happen at national team level, it doesn’t happen at the NPL [National Premier Leagues] level what we saw last night, it hasn’t happened at the other A-League games.

“Football is very safe. We saw in all the other A-League fixtures that were played over the weekend peaceful protests, and that’s OK.

“Fans are OK to express their views in a peaceful way. But the way that some individuals conducted themselves at the Melbourne Victory game is not acceptable and I think that is specific to that match.”

When is the Women’s World Cup?

The ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup will take place on July 20th, when hosts New Zealand take on Norway in Auckland.

Sydney has been chosen as the location for the final, which will take place on August 20th.

So far, 29 of the 32 competing teams have qualified so far, including European champions England, defending champions United States and 2019 finalists Netherlands.