A VICIOUS king-hit on an unsuspecting soccer fan at Saturday's A-League game has heaped more pressure on league bosses to crack down harder on hooligans.
A Football Federation Australia spokesman said they had received information confirming the offender's identity after footage of the AAMI Park incident was widely publicised.
It is understood football chiefs will push for the Melbourne-based spectator to be slapped with a five to ten year ban on attending games.
The incident follows ugly scenes at Etihad Stadium last month with 170 seats ripped up and flares discharged during the Melbourne Derby.
FFA in a statement said the assailant's identity would be shared with Victoria Police.
''Based on our repeated public statements about anti-social behaviour and the lengthy bans that have been imposed, no one should be in any doubt about how seriously FFA and the Heart are taking this incident,'' it read.
Melbourne Heart's chief executive Scott Munn earlier vowed to continue the fight against unruly spectators after footage of the brutal attack emerged from the Heart-Wanderers Match.
The punch during the Heart-Wanders match at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
The footage, captured by Fox Sports before it was posted on YouTube, shows a man in a blue hoodie king-hit a Western Sydney Wanderers supporter, before getting involved in a scuffle with another man at the match.
Mr Munn said the club would not tolerate anti-social behaviour and endorsed banning misbehaving fans for significant periods of time.
''Seeing an individual hit somebody is not acceptable,'' Mr Munn said.
Mr Munn said he would sit down with AAMI Park management on Monday to review any incidents of bad behaviour arising from the game and take relevant action.
Western Sydney Wanderers fan Eric Berry said his son had been standing six feet from where the victim was king-hit.
''There were assaults taking place... missiles being thrown towards Wanderers supporters…,’’ Mr Berry told Channel 7.
Mr Munn said it was the first time a flare had been lit at a game since the Melbourne derby, but that Heart fans were generally well-behaved.
Victoria Police spokeswoman Creina O'Grady last night could not confirm whether investigators had identified the perpetrator.
''Our public position is that Melbourne Heart are assisting police in identifying the people involved,'' she said.
The victim from Saturday's callous attack was yet to come forward to police, she said.
FFA's spectator code of behaviour states that any person using violence against others, including fellow spectators, may be evicted from the venue and banned from attending future matches.
A number of A-League fans have been banned this year following recent incidents of poor crowd behaviour, including one where a police officer was punched and capsicum spray used at a clash between Melbourne Victory and the Wanderers at AAMI Park.
- with Emily Portelli, Jessica Evans
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