Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover was struck in the head by a bucket following a pitch invasion which caused the A-League match to be abandoned ©Getty Images

Football Australia chief executive James Johnson has insisted that he does not have safety concerns over the staging of next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, despite the violent pitch invasion in the Melbourne here.

Johnson admitted the sport had "an issue with flares" and pledged to "weed out" those responsible for the ugly scenes in the A-League clash between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on Saturday (December 17).

Flares were thrown from fans of both clubs before City goalkeeper Tom Glover threw one back, sparking an angry reaction from Victory supporters.

Fans from the team stormed the pitch as Glover was struck in the head by a bucket and had to be escorted from the field.

Referee Alex King was also injured in the fracas as a concussed and bloodied Glover was taken to hospital where he received stitches.

The match was abandoned in the 22nd minute with Victory facing "serious sanctions" over the incident.

"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."

Football Australia chief executive James Johnson has insisted that
Football Australia chief executive James Johnson has insisted that "football is very safe" despite the ugly scenes in Melbourne ©Getty Images

The fan violence comes seven months before Australia is set to jointly host the FIFA Women’s World Cup with New Zealand.

It will be the first time both nations have staged the event which is due to run from July 20 to August 20 next year.

But Johnson said he was unconcerned over the safety of the World Cup.

"There is an issue with flares entering stadiums that we do need to look at," Johnson 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."

Melbourne is also set to stage competitions during the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.