Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover was hit in the face with a metal bin (Paramount)

Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover was left bloodied after a metal bucket was thrown at his head during a pitch invasion on Saturday.

The A-League derby between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory was abandoned in the first half after fans invaded the pitch.

The incident was sparked after a Melbourne Victory supporter threw a flare onto the pitch in the 20th minute.

Glover then picked up the flare which landed near him inside his penalty area and threw it back into the crowd.

A group of supporters immediately ran towards the pitch, pushed the advertising boards over and went to confront Glover.

Security staff rushed in to protect Glover but the 24-year-old was hit in the head with a metal bucket which is used to dispose of flares.

Referee Alex King was also injured and left covered in powder from the bucket.

Glover, who was left with a cut to his cheek, was then pulled away from the situation by his Melbourne City teammates.

The match was subsequently abandoned due to fears over player safety.

Tom Glover was pulled away from the Melbourne Victory supporters with a cut to his face (Getty)

Tom Glover threw a flare back into the stands where Melbourne Victory supporters were standing (Getty)

Melbourne Victory goalkeeper Paul Izzo removed flares from his end of the pitch (Getty)

Ahead of the game, both sets of supporters were already angered by the A-League’s decision to host the next three grand finals in Sydney.

During the first half, Melbourne City fans hit out at the APL’s chief executive Danny Townsend by chanting, ‘Danny Townsend, you ruined the league’ before unfurling a banner which read: ‘Football without fans is nothing!!’

Fans had also threatened to stage a walkout in protest of the decision.

Melbourne Victory fans broke down the advertising boards to storm onto the pitch (Getty)

Melbourne Victory fans rushed onto the pitch to confront Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Gloves, who threw a flare into the stands (Getty)

Melbourne Victory fans swing off the crossbar (Getty)

Both sets of supporters were angered by the A-League’s decision to send the next three grand finals to Sydney (Getty)

Football Australia hit out at the ‘shocking scenes’ and vowed that action will be taken against those responsible.

‘Such behaviour has no place in Australian football, with a full Football Australia investigation to commence immediately, where strong sanctions to be handed down,’ a statement read.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Tom Glover had thrown a flare back into the stands where Melbourne Victory supporters were standing.