Aggressive Melbourne Victory fans arrive at the A-League grand final. Credit:Paul Jeffers The same number of police rostered to patrol the AFL grand final at the MCG were deployed to the A-League match, even though the crowd numbers of about 30,000 were much smaller. Mr Guerin told radio station 3AW two men were charged with "riotous behaviour" after a group of Victory supporters crossed paths with Sydney fans outside Beer DeLuxe at Federation Square after the game. "What occurred was after the game, around eight o'clock, a number of Sydney fans had retired [to the pub] to drown their sorrows presumably and they were confronted by around 40 Melbourne Victory active supporters who, according to my officers, were pretty intent on having a blue," Mr Guerin said. "Fortunately, we had more than enough police officers to manage that situation. However, two of the supporters we sprayed and they were arrested and charged with riotous behaviour.

This photo appeared on the Facebook page of Melbourne Victory's North Terrace fan group at the 2015 grand final with the caption, "We are Melbourne!" "Any time a person is sprayed by a police officer in a physical confrontation is pretty serious…[but] it was subdued very quickly." One of the men arrested was the subject of a nine-year Football Federation Australia ban, barring him from matches, Mr Guerin said. Members of Melbourne Victory's North Terrace fan group set off flares before the game. Credit:Facebook. Supporters inside the Beer DeLuxe pub told Fairfax Media they were informed by police to remain inside the premises as there were a number of men said to be Melbourne Victory supporters targeting fans in nearby streets.

Two fights allegedly broke out nearby and when supporters tried to leave the premises, police pulled them back inside where they were temporarily barricaded for safety reasons, sources told Fairfax. The heavy police presence at the A-League grand final. Credit:Paul Jeffers Beer DeLuxe manager James Curran said police dealt with the crowd "really well", but declined to comment further. A Federation Square trader, who declined to be named, said security guards had to form a barricade around Beer DeLuxe to protect Sydney FC vans inside the venue, while police dealt with Victory supporters. A man is arrested at AAMI Stadium. Credit:Paul Jeffers

"It was a recipe for disaster when the Victory fans came past. The Melbourne Victory fans were really antagonising to the Sydney FC fans inside," he said. "It would have been full on for the guys out the front there." Police issued a warning to soccer fans after spectators at a match between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City at Etihad Stadium on May 9 took to pelting others with broken chairs and full water bottles, and setting off flares. Aggressive Melbourne FC fans arrive at the A-League grand final at AAMI Stadium. Credit:Paul Jeffers "We went out pretty hard in the media last week asking fans not to do certain things at the game; not to light flares, not to stand on seats, not to flood the aisles and they didn't do any of that stuff," Mr Guerin told 3AW. "In the lead up to the match of course, it's a different story, where you have the two active supporter groups kept apart through a pretty well-planned operation by police."

Flares were ignited by both supporter groups as they made their way from Federation Square to AAMI Park for the game. "It seems to be problem and a feature exclusively to the mainly active supporters of soccer, rather than any other sport. It is dangerous," Mr Guerin said. "Unfortunately, we need to put a police presence at some soccer games ... that is completely disproportionate to any other sporting event that we attend. There are things that go on at some soccer games by some soccer fans – lighting flares, jumping on seats, flooding aisles – that are anathema to AFL. "We never have to roster dozens of police to escort the cheer squads of AFL clubs into the MCG. Can you imagine the outcry if we had to escort Hawthorn and West Coast Eagles fans, keeping them apart before the game, it would be a disgrace to a national game." Victory's voluble North Terrace fan group put forward a banner for approval last week that depicted six or seven young men wearing balaclavas and hooded jumpers.

"[It had] absolutely nothing to do with football and everything to do with disguising yourself while you undertake some criminal activity," Mr Guerin said. "That's the mindset we're talking about with a very small but influential, active supporter group within Melbourne Victory. "The difference with soccer of course is that the minority is a problematic and persistent minority. You have a minority of course that stuff up at AFL games and other sporting events, but the minority in the soccer is a really hardcore, problematic group." Hundreds of Melbourne Victory fans had stopped traffic on Punt Road on Sunday while marching to AAMI Park before their team claimed the 3-0 win against Sydney FC. A small group of fans lit flares, began pushing others and shouting, "F--- off, Sydney! Oi oi oi!" as Sydney fans passed by, though police were quick to remove any troublemakers.

Others covered their faces with balaclavas and linked arms while marching to the stadium. Police said a total of seven people were arrested and 21 were ejected at Sunday's game, but not a single flare was lit inside the stadium. - with Steve Lillebuen and Dominic Bossi