Separating rival fans not answer to crowd brawls says AFL boss after ugly fight between Demons, Cats supporters at Kardinia Park

THE AFL says violent behaviour won’t be tolerated at matches after a horrific brawl in Geelong on Saturday — now they want fans to call out troublemakers. TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

THE AFL has declared that violent troublemakers are not welcome, but it’s adamant the poor actions of a few should not ruin football for the majority, and fans should be engaged in calling them out.

Police investigations continue into the brawl at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night, with the league to take “appropriate action” once those investigations are complete.

League head of clubs Travis Auld declared on Monday that the incident is “clearly unacceptable” but said segregating fans or monitoring service of alcohol at games were not necessarily the answer.

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The two groups clashed just after the final siren.

“We have almost seven million supporters attend our games each year. There’s a couple — a very small number — that are trying to ruin it for everyone else,” he said.

“The answer is that those people need to be held accountable each and every time it occurs.

“There is no other option other than to make sure those people understand that that’s unacceptable behaviour and that they’re not welcome at our games.”

He was adamant that the incident in question would be taken seriously and said that once the investigation was complete it would be clear that “we are not interested in having these people at our games”.

He said service of alcohol was something that would be considered “generally” but said the majority of football fans were not the issue.

“The reality is that the overwhelming majority are OK. They tend to be able to deal with it in those circumstances, enjoy themselves, take their friends and family, no matter who you support and not have an issue,” Auld said.

“I don’t think it’s so much the issue generally, maybe in these circumstances alcohol was involved, but it doesn’t mean that we should be looking at it and ruining it for everyone else.”

Auld said security at games is provided by each venue but that the league’s security team works closely with the companies involved when it comes to how many are deployed and in which areas.

One Geelong fan could be seen attempting to stomp on a Melbourne fan.

No “stark” changes will be immediately evident.

He did concede that in such tight affairs with after-the-siren results such as Saturday, “perhaps the security guys could have worked a bit differently in terms of what areas they focused on” and that greater security presence in standing terraces such as those in Geelong and Adelaide would be considered.

He also encouraged fans that “if they see behaviour that seems to be escalating during a game”, to not hesitate to use resources such as SMS lines to report anti-social behaviour or security guards.

“Fans can play a role in identifying any inappropriate behaviour and we’d encourage them to do so,” he said.

He also backed the AFL’s sanctions as strong enough.

“It’s hard to go past a life ban,” he said.

Auld said he did not believe that violence at games was getting worse, but “we’re becoming more aware of them … and we’ve got more avenues to publicise them, and that’s not a bad thing”.

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SEGREGATING MATCH WOULD ‘DESTROY OUR GAME’

Earlier, Port Adelaide president David Koch joined the chorus shouting down an idea to segregate fans at AFL matches, saying such a move would “destroy our game”.

Kardinia Park Stadium Trust chief executive Michael Brown raised the option of segregating fans after disturbing footage emerged of another crowd brawl at an AFL game, this time after Geelong’s after-the-siren victory against Melbourne at the Cats’ home ground.

“We’ve been really lucky in AFL football that we haven’t had to do that (and) we’d prefer not to do that,” Brown said.

“Kardinia Park is the people’s ground, it’s a ground of the community. However, if the behaviour continues to be not of an appropriate standard, all those measures need to be considered by the trust.”

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan on Monday morning ruled out such a move, saying all fans should not be punished for the actions of a few.

“The issue here is individual accountability,” he said.

“We pay a lot of money for security. They need to be in early and then the police need to be prosecuting these guys and holding them to account.

“We have isolated incidents. These people are drinking too much and carry on like absolute idiots behaving completely inappropriately need to be held to account. Accountability’s the critical part. Whether that’s they’re members and they’re banned or banned from venues or actually police charging them with assault, whatever it is it will play out over the coming day but that’s what needs to happen here.”

Koch echoed that sentiment, suggesting service of alcohol may need to be better monitored at games rather than keeping fans apart.

“There have always been boof heads at the footy no matter what game you go to, no matter what club you’re with,” he told FIVEaa.

“We don’t want to become like the UK where we cage fans in … it will just destroy our game.

“99 per cent of fans have good natured banter between each other — that’s part of the culture of going to the footy.”

Koch said crowd incidents rarely happened where people were seated.

“More mobile phones mean more video of what’s going on. That’s a good thing because that highlights the issue. But the issue is around responsible service of alcohol and also in areas where fans are not seated. For example, on the weekend it was on the old fashioned terraces at (Kardinia Park).”

“At Adelaide Oval where the crowd, for the number of people there, is always incredibly well behaved, but you get boof heads who overstep the line and it’s usually on the hill.

Mr Brown yesterday said those involved potentially face lifetime bans or getting their membership revoked.

“We are bitterly disappointed at the behaviour of a small group of fans that impacted on what should have been a great night of football,” Mr Brown said.

Mr Brown also didn’t rule out the possibility of segregating crowds as a way of deterring clashing fans.

“We will look at all measures in full and if we find that separating sections of the crowd during games will make things safer then so be it,” he said.

“I’ve seen other sports overseas introduce it but I’d like to think AFL fans are able to conduct themselves appropriately.

“Kardinia Park is a family ground and a lot of work has been done in order to ensure all fans enjoy their experience but there are still idiots that are ruining it for the rest of us.”

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Mr Brown said excessive drinking during games is an ongoing problem.

“There seems to be an issue with night time football and fans drinking alcohol,” he said.

“In the area where it (the brawl) happened, we don’t serve full strength alcohol and have introduced added security measures.”

The Cats will review the ugly footy fan fight before taking further action.

The club released a statement this afternoon, saying it would work with the appropriate parties to review what had occurred.

“Once this has been completed we will be able to determine if any action will be required by the club,” the statement read.

“Football is an inclusive sport and every supporter that attends a game should be able to do so in a safe and enjoyable environment.”

“Violence has no place in society, let alone at a game of footy.”

‘UGLY’ BRAWL LATEST IN SPATE OF FIGHTS

The Cats’ response comes as Victoria Police said it was aware of the violent brawl between Melbourne and Geelong fans in the standing area of Skilled Stadium, moments after the final siren.

Police also responded to another incident at three-quarter time.

Nothing like a sore loser - had a beer thrown at the back of my head after such a joyous after the siren win. Cats fans took care of a few drunk Melbourne fans - who kept picking fights and were police forced out #sad #AFLCatsDees pic.twitter.com/Fs1P2UgZTP

— TheProfits.com.au (@TheProfitsComAu) July 21, 2018

Several men were seen scuffling on the ground.

One man was dazed on the ground after hitting his head on the concrete steps.

“During the game, one person was evicted at three-quarter time and police are investigating one allegation of assault,” spokesman Sergeant Cameron Scott said.

“Police are aware of an altercation between spectators at the end of the game however, no one has reported any offences to police as a result of this incident.”

Video of the violent clash shows more than a dozen men kicking, punching and throwing each other to the ground in the standing area.

Footage shows a man wearing a Cats scarf stomping on another man who is pinned down, while a Demons fan is seen falling head first onto the concrete steps.

The melee lasts for almost 45 seconds before other members of the crowd pull the men off each other and a security guard tends to a Melbourne fan lying on the ground.

About a dozen police officers can later be seen evicting several members of the crowd.

Drew Patchell who took the video told the Sunday Herald Sun the fight broke out moments after the final siren at 10.07pm.

Mr Patchell said he was hit in the back of the head with a cup beer after Zach Tuohy kicked the matchwinning goal.

“I looked around … a Melbourne fan was on the floor and a few (were) holding each other,” he said.

“(It) wasn’t great to witness.”

Mr Patchell said the Melbourne fans were eventually evicted following the fracas.

Melbourne Club President Glen Bartlett this morning agreed with Mr McLachlan, saying the brawl was “completely unacceptable” and pointed towards greater security measures.

“We absolutely need to stamp it (violence) out,” he said on radio 3AW.

“(It’s) not what our club stands for, not what the AFL stands for and not what Geelong stands for. It’s a sad thing to see and we’ve got to stamp it out and take whatever measures are required,” he said.

“The MCG from what I’ve seen do it well, and security is a big part of it … that’s the answer, not barriers or segregation,” he said.

Mr Bartlett said that he thought teams were not looking towards segregation.

“I wouldn’t have thought so. One of the great things about our game is that we have opposition supporters in amongst opposition supporters,” he said.

“And the banter that goes on and the relationships there, to move to segregation would be a very sad day for our game.”

The ugly brawl is just one of a spate of incidents so far this AFL season.

In late May, a man was glassed in the face at GMHBA Stadium and a week later, nine fans from Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs brawled at Etihad Stadium.

Up to 10 Collingwood and St Kilda fans came to blows earlier in May at Etihad Stadium that also saw a fan shoved through a food shop door in an unrelated incident.

Fans have also clashed at the MCG and at Adelaide Oval this year.