Socceroos defender Milos Degenek has thrown his support behind Melbourne Victory’s criticism of the police at the A-League Grand Final, saying the increased presence is counterproductive to growing the sport.

On Tuesday night Victory released an explosive statement addressed to their fans taking aim at the behaviour of Victoria Police at the A-League Grand Final on Saturday night.

In the build-up to the Melbourne derby at AAMI Park there was a substantial police presence in and around the stadium and surrounding areas of Richmond which Victory chairman John Dovaston said was “unacceptable”.

Vision from outside the stadium showed fans letting off flares and fighting with the police with one officer taken to hospital with injuries and two supporters arrested.

Riot police and barricades were also in place as were police on horseback.

Degenek, who is no stranger to some of the most tense rivalries and fan bases in world football having previously played for Serbia's Red Star Belgrade, said increased police presence can actually force issues not reduce them.

"I don't think we're going to a war, we're going to a football game," he said in Perth on Tuesday ahead of the Socceroos World Cup qualifier.

"I saw the pictures of the grand final, a lot of police in it. You're making it out to be a lot worse than what it is, and that has a counter-effect, in my opinion.

"You are paying so much attention to those things, of fans and flares and this and that. In the end you're going to force an issue.

"Because you're narrowing down corridors where they can walk, you're pushing them to a side. Someone's going to push on someone, then is escalates really quick. Rather than giving them freedom to move, get them safely to a stadium.

"Sometimes it's just common sense, I think here in Australia a lot of it, I just don't agree that you need to put that much emphasis on policing going to football games, you need to give the fans the freedom, the joy. The more you do that, the less people are going to go to the stadium in my opinion.

"In Europe, you have less police and that's why you have more fans at the games."

WHAT VICTORY SAID

In an open letter posted to the club’s website, Dovaston accused the police of “creating fear amongst families and fans” in the build up to their 0-1 defeat to cross-town rivals City.

*“Before we talk about the achievements of this season, we do want to take a moment to let all our members and fans know, we are and will continue to address the treatment of football fans in this country,” the letter said. * “The scenes we saw prior to the Grand Final on Swan Street were overwhelming and unacceptable. Instead of promoting a fun and exciting spectacle of football, the extent of the police presence created fear amongst families and football fans alike.

*“Over the past few days, while we haven’t spoken publicly, we have certainly been addressing this privately, while also collecting more information about individual and collective experiences to both shape our response, and to help us form a strategy to make sure we don’t see this in football again. We need to create and demand long-term change. * “There is a line between keeping people safe and creating fear in the first place, and we believe the latter is what occurred. This is not acceptable. We will not allow our members and fans to continue to be treated this way, and we have called on the Victorian Government and Victoria Police, along with all football stakeholders, including the APL and Football Australia, to work with Melbourne Victory to investigate how this occurred and to support us in making the changes we expect to the football narrative in order to support the safe and sustained growth of our sport and our Club.

*“While we would never accept anti-social behaviour, the disproportionate deployment only served to justify a narrative about football fans in this country, one that allows a handful of people that do the wrong thing to overshadow the celebration, enjoyment and good behaviour of the vast majority. * “The celebration of the world game that should have occurred on Saturday night was certainly marred by the scenes we saw around the precinct. Over the course of the off-season, as we get ready to launch our fan engagement strategy, we will continue to work through the events prior to the Grand Final to avoid a repeat of this happening.”

It’s not the first time A-League fans have made headlines for their behaviour.

Earlier this year Melbourne City and Victory fans clashed outside a Richmond pub after the Derby, while back in 2022 in the same fixture, hundreds of supporters stormed the pitch 20 minutes into the match in horrific scenes which left goalkeeper Tom Glover bleeding from the head.

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