Fresh crowd violence mars Australian soccer image ahead of new league launch

John O'Neill, then Australian Rugby Union chief executive, speaks to a news conference in Sydney, September 10, 2003. Australian football chief John O'Neill has vowed to stamp out hooliganism after rioting fans tarnished the game's image just months before the launch of a new national league.

Australian football chief John O'Neill has vowed to stamp out hooliganism after rioting fans tarnished the game's image just months before the launch of a new national league.

In the second case of ethnic crowd violence at an Australian football ground in as many months, fans from the Greek community's South Melbourne team clashed Sunday with Preston Lions' supporters, who are mainly of Macedonian origin.

About 400 supporters were involved in the melee, where mounted police charged onto the field to repel a pitch invasion and rival fans hurled flares, bottles, darts and coins.

Three police received minor injuries, two men were arrested and 11 were escorted from South Melbourne's ground.

The violence followed similar scenes last month when dozens of fans of the Croatian-backed soccer team Sydney United battled Serb supporters of the rival White Eagles in suburban Sydney.

O'Neill, who was recruited from rugby union with the brief of launching the new "A League" and lifting football's profile in Australia, said the behaviour would not be tolerated.

"This is not part of what we term 'new football'," he said Tuesday. "We recognise the tribal nature of sport but that should be restricted to the contest on the field."

The eight-team A League's kick off in August will come 16 months after the demise of its 27-year-old predecessor, the National Soccer League, which collapsed under a weight of debt, in-fighting, ethnically-divisive administrations and spectator apathy.

O'Neill said the latest problems vindicated administrators' decision to adopt a "one city-one team" model to minimise the ethnic rivalries that have dominated the Australian game in recent decades and prevented it challenging the popularity of rugby league, rugby union and Australian rules football.

Victoria state football chiefs launched an inquiry into the riot, saying the two teams could be expelled from the Victorian league, face fines, or be forced to play behind closed doors.