The fan who reached over the fence on Friday night time and made contact with Richmond star Marlion Pickett has copped a heavy ban from the AFL.
As the Tigers discovered themselves down closely within the third quarter in opposition to the Western Bulldogs, a member of the group surrounded by Dogs followers reached out and tapped Pickett a collection of instances on his left shoulder along with his again turned.
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Pickett instantly swung round and had phrases with the person, knocking his drink down because the supposed fan appeared to level in the direction of the scoreboard.
Security was additionally rapidly on the scene and Pickett was seen chatting with Tigers official Tim Livingstone through the closing break.
On Monday the AFL punishment for the fan in query was handed down with the league coming down onerous on the conduct.
The fan was handed a ban that may see him unable to attend any video games till the tip 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 govt Kylie Rogers stated.
“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.”
Speaking post-match on Friday night time, Richmond coach Andrew McQualter additionally 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 stated.
“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.”
Source: www.news.com.au
