Key Points
- Melbourne Victory have been hit with a $550,000 fine following the pitch invasion at last month's A-League Men derby.
- The crowd violence led to the abandonment of the fixture with Melbourne City.
- As part of an array of sanctions from Football Australia, the club was handed a suspended 10-point reduction.
Melbourne Victory have been spared an immediate points deduction but will play the next three-and-a-half seasons with a 10-point sanction hanging over their heads after being hit with $550,000 in fines.
The four-time A-League Men champions will also be forced to resume last month's derby with Melbourne City, as part of the sanctions announced by Football Australia on Tuesday.
Rather than award a walkover to City following the violence, the game will resume from the 22nd minute - when Victory fans stormed the pitch and assaulted opposition goalkeeper Tom Glover.
City will retain their 1-0 lead from the abandoned match, with the match to take place in April.
"Whoever wins the competition needs to be remembered for winning it on the pitch," FA chief executive James Johnson told a Sydney media conference.
"Whether you're deducting points from Melbourne Victory or you're giving points to City, it's something we wanted to avoid. We wanted the integrity of the season to remain intact."
Victory will have seven days to appeal the sanction and in the unlikely event they did so, Mr Johnson said his organisation would take them "all the way to Switzerland'', referring to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"Deducting points (immediately) was considered," he said.
"What we decided is that what ultimately is important is the integrity of our competition.
"We felt that if we were to implement a points deduction now, it wasn't the most effective way of deterring the fans.
"If a spectator runs onto the pitch, there's an assault, there will be an automatic 10-point deduction and if that were to occur, that will destroy Melbourne Victory's (season)."
The $550,000 represents the biggest fine in the sport's history in Australia.
Active supporter bays at home games and away supporter bays will be closed off to Victory fans for the remainder of the season.
In total, FA have handed out 17 bans to supporters who charged the pitch.
