A-League: Injured referee Alex King wants a quick return

Risking his own safety, King came to the rescue of Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover. He suffered cuts to his face as he was carrying Victory supporters, who stormed onto the pitch with around 150 people 20 minutes into the Melbourne Derby.

Glover was taken to hospital, but King was able to return to his home state of Queensland on Sunday despite suffering a bruise on the top of his head.

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Football Australia referee Boo Nathan McGill said King was “physically fine”.

“But obviously like most of us, we were a little stunned by the action of 150 people stepping onto the pitch themselves,” McGill said when King met on Sunday before his flight back to Brisbane. After that, I said

Referees have a duty to be careful with their players, but McGill said people react differently in certain situations

“This was a truly unique situation…so credit to Alex for reacting as he did, prioritizing Tommy Glover’s well-being, even though he was put in a difficult situation.” he said

“For those who don’t know Alex, he cares about people. He just went up to Tom and thought, ‘Let’s get out of here together.’

“It’s very brave of him to try to help someone else.”

McGill said King, who has a FIFA badge, couldn’t let the incident deter the referee.

“Kingie wants to contribute to Australian football and is very determined to return there so that what happens does not affect him,” he said.

“The next 24 to 48 hours will be critical in terms of how he feels. After that, we will continue to monitor him.”

McGill said King’s assault would affect referee numbers.

“It doesn’t look good for the game. It affects everyone, including our recruiting efforts – that’s for sure,” he said.

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