Man arrested after footy fan allegedly assaulted at Dreamtime clash

A man has been charged after allegedly bashing a Richmond fan with a didgeridoo outside the MCG following the Dreamtime clash.

Police have made a breakthrough following an unprovoked attack outside the MCG after Saturday’s Dreamtime clash.

Police charged a 26-year-old man on Wednesday morning after a search warrant was executed at a property in Dandenong North.

The man has been charged with affray, intentionally causing injury, recklessly causing injury and assault with a weapon.

He has been bailed and will appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on December 9.

The man was wearing a grey hoodie and covered his face when he was taken away by two police officers.

It is alleged the man bashed Richmond fan Daniel, 25, with a didgeridoo outside the ground along Birrarung Marr on Saturday night.

Daniel’s grandfather Robert Allingham said it was a “big relief” police had made an arrest over the alleged attack.

“All I hope is the attacker doesn’t get a slap on the wrist,” Mr Allingham said.

“That footage of Daniel being attacked was seen by thousands of people, so I hope he doesn’t get a slap on the wrist.”

Mr Allingham said he had followed media reports the alleged attacker was a performer at the Dreamtime clash.

“If he had performed at the MCG, Daniel went to support the night,” he said.

“He was nearly bashed to death by someone who he had gone to support. It is a bit strange. Daniel has been a Richmond supporter since he was a young boy.”

The doting grandfather said his grandson was “not out of the woods” and had to be continually monitored by relatives at home.

“He has to be monitored around the clock,” Mr Allingham said.

“To me he looks very concussed, very tired. Daniel is not out of the woods.”

Daniel was leaving the stadium when it is alleged he was assaulted by a gang of youths on Saturday.

Footage of the incident shows the Richmond fan allegedly being viciously struck in the head and falling to the ground after the match between Richmond and Essendon.

He can be seen trying to get back to his feet before quickly losing his balance and falling again.

“Watching the footage, when I got hit, it looked like I fell and hit my head on the ground, as well.”

Daniel, 25, was assaulted on Saturday outside the MCG. Picture: Channel 9

Daniel described the alleged assault as a “weak” act.

“Carrying around something and wanting to use it as a weapon, (is) just weak, cowardly,” he said.

His grandfather, Robert, said the alleged assault came “out of the blue”.

He said Daniel was due to undergo further brain scans on Monday.

“We hope they can find who did this,” Robert said.

“Hopefully someone might say they knew who did it.”

“Unprovoked, he was attacked by six or seven teenagers with didgeridoos,” Robert told 3AW radio.

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Ugly scenes unfolded at the MCG at Saturday night’s Dreamtime match. Picture: Darrian Traynor

“They bashed him over the head, to the ground, and then when they’d finished, because people were screaming and they ran off, one of them spat on him.

“Daniel was the one who copped the full brunt.”

A witness spoke of their shock over the violent incident.

“It was very bad, I thought he would’ve died from the way he fell and the way the guy knocked him with the didgeridoo,” a witness told 7 News.

“I was worried for me and my mates because who knows what they could’ve done to us.”

Robert said his grandson had spent two nights in hospital and would undergo surgery to his nose on Monday.

“He’s in hospital now, he’s got two fractures to the skull, a broken nose,” he said.

“They put stitches in his forehead. His left eye is completely closed. He’s bruised. He’s in a bad way.”

It was one of several cases of “disappointing” behaviour at the MCG Dreamtime clash.

Other incidents included a police officer being bitten, another assaulted and more than 50 fans evicted from the match at the MCG on Saturday night.

Police blamed “pre-loading” on alcohol as a contributing factor behind the night of trouble, blasting the behaviour of some spectators, including drunkenness, discharging a missile, offensive conduct and entering the field of play.

Two police officers were assaulted, an offence that carries a mandatory six-month jail sentence. An incident involving a 21-year-old man was the first of the evening.

He was arrested when he was escorted from the food stall area after he was found to be drunk.

“The man, who became combative when police were assisting him from the ground, bit the officer as he was being led out,” a police statement said. “It is expected he will be charged on summons with assault police and being drunk.”

In the second incident a man was arrested and OC sprayed, after he punched an officer who approached him about urinating outside the venue. The 36-year-old man is expected to be charged on summons.

Two 31-year-old men were evicted and issued with penalty notices after they ran out onto the ground during the quarter-time break in the vicinity of the Ponsford Stand.

A 19-year-old Drouin woman was also arrested in relation to an assault and is expected to be charged with assault and intentionally causing injury.

Meanwhile, a man was taken to hospital and two others injured when two parties clashed after the game about 10.40pm.

The Herald Sun understands the fracas erupted ­between two groups of men near the Richmond Football Club cheer squad during the match.

Video posted to social media showed police escorting male supporters of both clubs from the ground.

Wild night at the MCG

Twitter user Todd Davey, who recorded the evictions, said it was an unpleasant night.

“What a shit night,” Mr Davey said.

“So many pissed f---wits felt the need to approach me all night.

“Genuine magnet for morons.”

One long-time Richmond member, who attended most home games, said he had “never before” seen the crowd behave like they did on Saturday.

The supporter, who wished to remain nameless, reported “at least six or seven people” being evicted in the stands to the right of the Richmond cheer squad on the first level.

“I witnessed at least one physical fight and several verbal altercations,” he said.

“I’ve never seen so many police and security at the MCG. They definitely had their work cut out for them.

“It really heated up in the second half of the match.”

Police also booted 30 fans from the stadium for vaping.

The wild night at the ‘G ended with 50 patrons being ejected due to poor and unruly behaviour, with Victoria Police confirming 30 of those were for using the widely-used e-cigarettes.

“Vaping is an issue, and we work with the ‘G and events to try and publicise the fact that it is prohibited,” Inspector Jamie Templeton from Victoria Police told 3AW.

“Some of those evictions, people understand, but some are a little antsy and don’t want to leave and that’s when police get involved.”

Inspector Jamie Templeton, the local area commander for Melbourne East, said it was a disappointing night on the beat.

Richmond prevailed in the highly anticipated clash. Picture: AFL Photos

“Tens of thousands of football fans attend matches every week and the vast majority support their team and enjoy the atmosphere safely and responsibly, so it was disappointing to see so many spectators engage in disruptive behaviour last night,” Insp Templeton said.

“We did see what appeared to be higher levels of alcohol consumption and aggression. “It was noticeable that ‘pre-loading’ of alcohol prior to the game was significant in contributing to more incidents of poor crowd behaviour than usual.

“Police, Melbourne Cricket Club and the licensee work together to manage alcohol consumption at the ground, including reducing alcohol availability.

“The responsible service of alcohol is actively monitored and supported by police at liquor outlets.”

AFL Fans Association president Cheryl Critchley said anti-social behaviour was “pretty rare” in 2022.

“Overwhelmingly, fans are really well behaved at games,” Ms Critchley said.

“Generally speaking if someone does the wrong thing, people around them will take action.”

The MCC, Essendon and Richmond football clubs have been contacted for comment.