Melbourne City will be without striker Harry Novillo after the 24-year-old was handed a two match ban following a half-time melee in Friday’s 2-0 loss to Adelaide United.
After being cited by the Match Review Panel (MRP) for kicking out toward Adelaide duo Marcelo Carrusca and Dylan McGowan, the Frenchman will now be forced to miss Melbourne City’s elimination final against Perth Glory and a potential semi-final meeting with Adelaide United.
The incident occurred in the minutes following City goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen’s clumsy foul on Stefan Mauk, leading to Bruce Djite’s converted penalty. Mauk’s 2-0 hand gesture is understood to have sparked a reaction from the City bench, eventually leading to a melee at half time when both teams headed towards the tunnel.
While a large number of players and club officials from both teams were involved in the fracas, City’s goalkeeping coach Joe Didulica and Novillo were cited for foul play.
After two successive defeats, the City hierachy will be hugely disappointed with their star attacker, who served an intra-club ban of two weeks earlier in the season for an off-field incident.
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