During the arrest, police used capsicum spray after three other men, aged 25, 28 and 30, also refused to leave. The four men received penalty notices for riotous behaviour. The 28-year-old man was also arrested for public drunkenness and also received a penalty notice for disorderly conduct. Two men in the vicinity, aged 29 and 35, were also directed to leave and were evicted without any further trouble. Police are continuing to investigate the incident, the latest in a string of violent eruptions at AFL matches across the 2019 season.

A bloody brawl marred the season opener between Richmond and Carlton at the MCG in March. The AFL was urged to take a tougher stance on crowd violence in May after an intellectually disabled Hawthorn supporter was thrown to the ground and bashed after Hawthorn played Melbourne at the MCG. Just a week later, a number of fights broke out in the closing moments of the Carlton v Collingwood match at the MCG. Another brawl broke out at Etihad Stadium at the Collingwood v Western Bulldogs match on May 25, sparking a crackdown on supporter behaviour. Opposition police spokesman David Southwick said AFL finals were an opportunity for Victoria to be on show and violent behaviour threatened the state’s reputation.

“It gives Victoria a black eye when it comes to community safety and running family-friendly events,” he said. Mr Southwick also took a swipe at the Andrews government’s plans to bring Victoria into line with the majority of Australian states by scrapping public drunkenness laws. “This is the perfect example last night where people were arrested for being drunk and displaying shocking behaviour,” he said. “Police need the powers to do their job and [Premier] Daniel Andrews wants to take away those powers that allow police to act.” Mr Southwick said the brawl showed that more police resources should be allocated to next weekend’s grand final.