The Austrian captain joined his coach Graham Arnold in condemning the actions of La Rocca, who they believe was seen to "high-five" fellow Wanderers player Matthew Spiranovic in the aftermath to the incident.
That just don't feel right and/or appropriate: giving high five to your teammate after you heavily injured another player!#shameonyoularocca
— Marc Janko (@JankoMarc) December 2, 2014
Abbas ruptured both the anterior cruciate and medial ligament in his left knee after La Rocca's challenge in Saturday's 1-1 Sydney derby draw and could be out of action for 14-15 months, meaning he will miss Iraq's 2015 Asian Cup campaign this January.
Earlier on Tuesday, Wanderers striker Tomi Juric defended La Rocca's tackle and conduct, adamant it was a fair challenge and says the injury was just an unfortunate accident.
"It’s a derby. At the end of the day you’re going to go into tackles and try and win the ball. At the time I don’t think anyone realized the extent of the injury until after the game," Juric told www.a-league.com.au.
"I thought it was a fair challenge, that’s how it looked on the field, obviously we found out the consequences after. No one’s happy to injure someone to that extent but that’s football, these kind of things happen."
The tension between the Sydney derby opponents has escalated over the years with former Sydney FC midfielder Richard Garcia exchanging heated words on Twitter with ex-Wanderers defender Jerome Polenz, while Brendon Santalab was cleared of racially abusing Abbas last season.
Just a free kick ? pic.twitter.com/Ix4C7vPuiu
— Richard Garcia (@RichGarcia19) October 26, 2013
@RichGarcia19 pic.twitter.com/BWzbiWKYLu
— Jerome Polenz (@JeromePolenz6) October 27, 2013
@JeromePolenz6 > hahaha hard man eh..... Your a legend!!! When I grow up I want to be just like you! 😘
— Richard Garcia (@RichGarcia19) October 27, 2013