Australian A-League: Melbourne derby abandoned after violent pitch invasion

There will be strong sanctions handed down by Football Australia after the abandonment of the A-League men's game.

You can watch the LaLiga, Bundesliga, and more on the U.S. based on your location.

A camera operator for Network Ten was hit by a flare thrown by one of the fans who were protesting against the league administrators.

Flares and fireworks were set off by fans throughout the preceding 20 minutes, with City fans throwing objects onto the pitch to celebrate O'Neill's opener.

There was a series of events that began with a projectile landing near the City goalkeeper and then he tried to clear it by throwing a flare off the pitch and into the crowd.

As fans rushed towards his position, he was hit in the head by a metal bucket filled with sand designed to extinguish flares thrown in his direction and was rushed from the pitch.

The game's referee coach was pushed into the fence and the referee had a gash to his head.

King and his fellow officials were escorted to their cars by security after they left the stadium.

There was a suspected concussion after the incident, according to city officials.

Both sets of players and coaching staffs, as well as the match officials, then quickly made their way off the field, while the fans that remained on the surface turned their attention to attacking the sponsor boards and goals.

It was the first time in the history of the A-League that a fixture has been called off due to player safety.

The planned protests were in response to APL's decision to sell hosting rights to its next three grand finals.

There were demonstrations at the A-League Men and A-League Women games, but they were peaceful.

The A-League men's fixture between Melbourne City FC and Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park has been abandoned as a result of the pitch invasion by the Victory fans and the injuries to the match official Alex King.

The ramifications of these events are being coordinated by the Australian professional league.

Football Australia runs the A-Leagues but the national federation still enforces a national code of conduct.

"After shocking scenes during the first half of the A-League Men's match between Melbourne Victory FC and Melbourne City FC at AAMI Park, where fans from theMelbourne Victory FC end entered the field of play, Football Australia match officials have abandoned the match."

Strong sanctions to be handed down will be the result of a full Football Australia investigation into such behavior.