Football
ESPN staff 8y

Melbourne City and Adelaide United players clash in A-League

Adelaide United players were involved in a mass fracas at half-time of their 2-0 win at Melbourne City as their A-League clash boiled over.

The drama began when goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen clumsily barged over Adelaide's Stefan Mauk to concede a 45th-minute penalty, which was converted by Bruce Djite to double the visitors' lead following Isaias' fourth-minute free kick.

As Mauk, a former Melbourne City player, went off for treatment he appeared to make a gesture towards the home side's bench, reminding them of the scoreline.

That sparked a brawl involving most of the player from both sides as well as several members of coaching staff.

Marcelo Carrusca and Bruno Fornaroli shared tense words and soon it got physical, with City forward Harry Novillo kicking out and Mauk at the centre of the tussle.

The scuffles continued as the players made their way down the tunnel, resulting in Novillo and Mauk being cautioned -- among 10 players to receive yellows for the night -- and assistant coach Joey Didiluca was sent to the stands.

City coach John van't Schip said the brawl-inducing moment should never have happened.

"That was not a penalty because the ball was already behind... I think the referee lost control after that," he said.

"We didn't create with our play. The spaces were limited, they had a lot of numbers back and we couldn't get through."

Information from the Australian Associated Press was used in this report

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