Richmond’s Dion Prestia set to be cleared of wrongdoing over social media image at ‘takeaway’ pub crawl in Melbourne

An Instagram pic of Richmond star Dion Prestia allegedly at a “takeaway” pub crawl sparked an angry reaction, but the Tiger is set to be cleared of wrongdoing.

The image of Tiger Dion Prestia, which was posted to Instagram.

The AFL is expected to clear Tigers premiership midfielder Dion Prestia of any wrongdoing after a photo linking him to a Richmond pub crawl circulated on social media.

The photo, posted on an Instagram story and titled “crawling from pub to pub”, shows Prestia with another man and several others holding bottles of Fireball Whisky on Saturday night.

His appearance in the photo sparked an angry reaction, given the Richmond takeaway “pub crawl” event that Victorian Premier Dan Andrews and Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton strongly criticised.

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Dion Prestia in action against the Tigers on Friday night. Picture: Getty Images

Andrews on Monday extended Melbourne’s lockdown by two weeks until September 2 and implemented a 9pm curfew in response to continued Covid-19 cases and people flouting the rules.

However, it’s understood Prestia, who lives in Richmond, was only picking up takeaway food – well within his legal 5km radius – and was asked to pose for the photo.

He agreed to do so and lowered his mask for the photo, but was not involved in the pub crawl and went home immediately afterwards.

Prestia explained that version of events to the Tigers, who spoke with AFL executive general manager of football Andrew Dillon throughout the day.

Richmond issued a statement on Monday night, saying it was aware of Prestia being out on Saturday night and had alerted the AFL to the situation.

The AFL sent a memo to clubs on August 3 outlining strict conditions for players and staff to follow, including avoiding mass events and any location where they could not socially distance.

Originally published as Richmond’s Dion Prestia set to be cleared of wrongdoing over social media image at ‘takeaway’ pub crawl in Melbourne