Victory and Adelaide played an A-League Women/A-League Men double header for the Pride Cup on Saturday in an initiative which works to make sport more welcoming for the LGBTIQ+ community.
But the leadership of Victory's north terrace active supporter group was absent for two high-stakes games against one of the club's biggest rivals.
That group instead attended the club's NPLM Victoria team's game against Green Gully in Shepparton, with its banners on display on the fences.
There were still a large group of active fans for the 5-3 ALM triumph and Diles stressed the importance of the pride game.
"I didn't really notice it because we still had big numbers behind both ends of the goals," Diles said.
"In the end, it's a pride round this week and it's a game that represents what football is about - and it's for everybody.
"In the end, it was a football match. It had that associated with it, which is great. We've got to accept everybody from all walks of life.
"In the end, we had a great crowd there tonight. We had our actives behind both ends, who were fantastic again.
"Adelaide came with some good numbers as well, which proved that it's a derby.
"Fair play to their fans that turned up as well, it made it a really good atmosphere as well. So, in the end, it's a great night."
Victory's build-up to the game itself was relatively low key, with the club centring their Pride Cup plans during the week on education sessions for players and staff.
While Victory's A-League Women players wore rainbow names and numbers on their jerseys in their 2-1 win, their ALM players had standard white names and numbers.
It's understood Victory were initially planning to just have captain's armbands for both their ALM and ALW teams, but the women's team had specifically requested to have rainbow names and numbers.
The men's players had not requested not to wear rainbow names and numbers.
Both of Adelaide's teams wore rainbow names and numbers.
Adelaide have been leaders in the LGBTIQ+ space, especially after ALM-listed player Josh Cavallo came out as gay in 2021 - and was subjected to homophobic abuse from some Victory fans in 2022.
Adelaide had a large travelling contingent on hand, while ALM coach Carl Veart and ALW counterpart Adrian Stenta both wore rainbow ribbon pins.
"It's about being inclusive and everyone has to feel safe," Veart said.
"And we've provided that environment with our culture in and around the club. Our supporters always feel part of the club.
"It's taken us a while to get to this point and it's a credit to everyone that works at the club and all of our supporters that we're very inclusive and we're quite open with our communication."
