AFL fan handed lengthy ban following incident with Marlion Pickett

An AFL fan won’t be sitting in the stands anytime soon after the league came down hard on him after he made contact with a player.

Marlion Pickett interacts with a fan

The fan who reached over the fence on Friday night and made contact with Richmond star Marlion Pickett has copped a heavy ban from the AFL.

As the Tigers found themselves down heavily in the third quarter against the Western Bulldogs, a member of the crowd surrounded by Dogs fans reached out and tapped Pickett a series of times on his left shoulder with his back turned.

Watch every match of every round of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

Pickett immediately swung around and had words with the man, knocking his drink down as the supposed fan appeared to point towards the scoreboard.

Security was also quickly on the scene and Pickett was seen chatting with Tigers official Tim Livingstone during the final break.

On Monday the AFL punishment for the fan in question was handed down with the league coming down hard on the conduct.

Pickett instantly raised the issue with security. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

The fan was handed a ban that will see him unable to attend any games until the end of 2024.

“We have the best fans in the world and more than 6.4 million people have attended the footy this year and we want everyone who comes to the footy to cheer for their team and enjoy the experience of being there, but when you overstep the boundaries, which is what happened on Friday night, then you will lose the privilege of being able to attend the footy,” AFL executive Kylie Rogers said.

“Our clear message is this – we love the interactions between players and fans especially in the precious moments pre and post-game – however what we saw on Friday night during the match is not acceptable and never will be.”

Pickett wasn’t happy with the incident. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Speaking post-match on Friday night, Richmond coach Andrew McQualter also condemned the actions of the fan.

“It shouldn’t happen … we love fans in our game and they are so critical to our game but players should never, ever be touched when they’re on the football field,” he said.

“It’s disappointing that happened.

“I think all Marlion was doing (at three quarter time) was alerting Tim to the fact that something happened and just getting security to deal with it.

“The AFL will deal with it now.”