August 29, (THEWILL) – A 23-year-old Melbourne man has been sentenced to three months in jail, for attacking a goalkeeper during a pitch invasion at a football match last year.
Alex Agelopoulos threw a bucket of sand into the face of Melbourne City goalkeeper, Tom Glover, after fans of Melbourne Victory stormed the pitch in protest at a recent decision. The attack left Glover bloodied and concussed.
Agelopoulos was sentenced at a Melbourne magistrates court. As well as a 3 month jail term, he received an 18 month order for random drug testing and a 5 year ban from the stadium. Magistrate Rosemary Falla said his actions had “stained the fabric of football in Australia.”
The match last December was abandoned after the pitch invasion. It was later replayed and City won 2-1. Football Australia fined Victory $450,000 over the incident and imposed significant sporting sanctions on the club.
Agelopoulos’ lawyer had argued against a jail sentence, saying his client had shown remorse and was addicted to crystal methamphetamine at the time. But the magistrate said there was no place for this behaviour in sport. An appeal against the sentence has been lodged.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
