An open letter to the Melbourne Victory

To whom it may concern,

Over the past few years I have attended Melbourne Victory games when I have been able to. I was in attendance on Saturday and I saw two of the most disgusting pieces of play I can remember on a sporting arena.

Kevin Muscat’s shepherd on the wall that lead to Hernandez’s goal belonged in an AFL game, whilst the kamikaze kick on Zahra would have been inappropriate in a kickboxing match. The fact that the club continue to support Kevin, describing the incident as a ‘mistimed tackle’ in a masterful attempt at spin is beyond reproach.

There will always be a blurring of the lines, accidents happen and a player should get the benefit of the doubt. Muscat deserves that no more. As a child I saw his callous tackle on Christophe Dugarry. I have not seen his tackle on Bellamy but I understand the damage was just as bad. He has grabbed the throat of Milan Baros and I have read multiple reports of his abuse of a debutant as he ran onto the pitch. Sadly these are not the only acts of violence he is known for.

Therefore, as long as Kevin remains associated with the club and retains the clubs support I will vote with my feet.

I will not attend Victory home matches and I will not purchase sponsors products.

Enough is enough, you have lost this sports fan, a man who attended in excess of 60 sporting events last year. I dare say there are many others who share my sentiments.

The ball is in your court.

Regards

Tim Ivins

Comments

  1. Muscat was the primary reason I didn’t embrace the Victory to begin with, making my decision to become a foundation member of the Heart even easier.

    That said, Saturday night’s derby proved that the rivalry will be good for football in Melbourne.

  2. Tim

    Wouldn’t Muscat’s use of the arms in that incident have seen him penalised in footy as well?

    Perhaps Muscat’s worst crime this year was to stand on the Fury player’s mouthguard and then pretend to have been hit when the player tried to push him off it, thereby getting him sent off.

    Here’s a couple of Muscat moments

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdLw64d6rNU

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXl0rQb_dBg&feature=related

  3. I am with you, Litza. I could never really warm to Victory with Muscat there.
    A friend of mine is an acquaintance of a former Socceroo who joined Victory for an ill-fated stint at the club in 2007. Said player was shocked at the influence wielded at the club by Muscat.
    After Saturday’s match, Ernie saying “I didn’t see the tackle” was a disgrace…a failure of leadership of massive proportions.

  4. There’s the problem Smoke. They can’t really just cut him loose as so much of the Club has been forged by him. Merrick has been spineless. This Club is at a significant crossroad…interestingly, they could still show some mettle and make a finals run.

  5. #2 Ian you are quite correct about the shephard. I have been watching far too much NFL lately.

    I held off writing this letter as I didn’t want emotion to cloud my judgment. Two days later the feeling of disgust remained and still remains. The fact that you have been able to add further examples makes me wonder how he can remain a role model and face of the team.

  6. Dave Nadel says

    #2 My immediate reaction when I saw Muscat’s charge at Zahra on TV was to exclaim to others in the room that that would be illegal in all codes of football including all the contact games like Aussie Rules, the two Rugby codes and even American Football.

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