Australian footballer bloodied after being hit by bin in violent pitch invasion

A derby between Australian sides Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City was abandoned after a pitch invasion left a player with a suspected concussion.

The A-League match was still in the first half when chaos ensued, with supporters running onto the pitch in a pre-planned protest. Fans charged onto the pitch in the 22nd minute, throwing flares and other objects before City goalkeeper Tom Glover was injured.

Glover was stood looking bemused as a group of fans ran onto the pitch from behind his goal. One tried to push him before a metal bin, appearing to contain caulk, was thrown and made contact with his face.

It cut open his cheek, leaving blood pouring from his face as he was rushed off the pitch and down the tunnel.

Referee Alan King was seen running from the turf for the tunnel as fans engulfed him. The match was suspended, with the score at 1-0 to Melbourne City, and later abandoned "due to player safety."

A statement from Melbourne City on Twitter said: "Tom Glover is receiving medical treatment in the dressing room and likely has a concussion."

The chaos came after Melbourne City fans announced their intentions to walk out of the match after 20 minutes in protest against a decision taken by the A-League to sell the grand final to Sydney.

Supporters of both City and Victory had planned to walk out of the AAMI Park with more than three quarters of the game remaining. The protest was planned against the Australian Professional League's call to sell three years' worth of grand finals to the New South Wales government for $20million.

Previously, whichever of the two finalists finished highest in the regular-season table got to host the game.

The decision has been met with fury from fans and has plunged Australian football into crisis, overshadowing the Socceroos' performance at the World Cup.

Shortly after returning from Qatar, where they got out of the Group Stages before being beaten by eventual finalists Argentina in the last-16, star player Craig Goodwin released a statement on the decision.

"I wanted to clear things up publicly. I may be in the video for the A League's choice to host Grand Finals in Sydney, but I do not support it. I am a player, but I am also a fan," he wrote.

"The fans are the most valuable thing in football and as we have seen from the support throughout the country for the Socceroos at the World Cup, they are the ones that create the atmosphere and culture, and what makes the game great.

"Like many fans around the country, and like I said, I too am disappointed in this decision. Thanks."