'Ban soccer thugs for life': Premier Ted Baillieu says Melbourne Victory fans at Saturday night's game against western Sydney Wanderers (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) Source: The Daily Telegraph SOCCER thugs should be banned from the sport for life if they repeatedly misbehave, Ted Baillieu says. And recent violent outbreaks at soccer matches have been described by the Premier as "absolute acts of bastardry." A police officer was punched during Saturday night's match between Melbourne Victory and the Western Sydney Wanderers, which was also marred by dozens of hooligans and saw police use capsicum spray. Police have revealed that many trouble-makers are "known" to them and will be targeted in the future if they misbehave. Launching a new television advertisement to raise awareness of an anti-violence campaign, Mr Baillieu called for clubs to do as much as possible to crack down on hooligans. "To work with Victoria Police to identify anybody who commits these absolute acts of bastardry and thuggery and get them out of our grounds, get them out of our game, and restore sport in soccer fields to a level of dignity," he said. Any more that the clubs can do, should be done. Clubs should act to ensure thugs acting in this way "do not get in the gate," he said. Mr Baillieu, who is a Melbourne Victory member and a self-confessed sports fan, said: "I absolutely deplore what I have seen." "They have demonstrated an ugly, ugly side, which we don't want to have any part of in this country, and certainly not in this state," he said. It's completely foreign to the basis... of sports culture in Victoria. You probably have to be a psychiatrist to understand the motive of some of these people, but the anecdotal evidence I have seen myself is... there are some people who go to the game to do just that - they have precious little interest in the sport. It is just digraceful. He said if this behaviour continues, "there's a problem." "These people have got to be out of the (grounds), never get in," he said. Not banned for six months, twelve months - never get in. Keep them away from sport. I think we need a lot more attention on who these people are. Deputy Commissioner Graham Ashton said that Victoria Police was assessing plans to run targeted operations at soccer matches, using intelligence gathered in recent weeks from an ``escalating series of violent actions. "Those particular people of late, have been coming in, just as the premier said, not to actually watch the soccer but these are people who are known to us through other activities that are coming in to try to incite unlawful activity," he said. We do know a lot of these people and we have got to know them better in the last couple of weeks. Some of the people that were known to police had disrupted other "public events," he said. This morning, North West Metro region Inspector Geoff Colsell said a group of spectators who call themselves Horda were seemingly attempting to recreate the notorious soccer hooliganism of the 1980s with their latest behaviour.