Fans threw bottles and cans at umpires leaving the MCG after Hawthorn’s nine-point preliminary-final defeat by Brisbane, with projectiles narrowly missing officials on the field.
Dozens of bottles and cans landed on the turf on Saturday night as Hawthorn supporters reacted angrily to several decisions during the closing stages of the match.
Footage appeared to show field umpire Jacob Mollison moving quickly to shield a colleague from an object thrown from the second level of the stadium.
Luke Hodge, who played for both Hawthorn and Brisbane, condemned the incident in commentary. “They should not have things thrown at them. A bottle’s come down from the top tier,” he said.
The decisive moment came shortly before the final siren, when Hawthorn defender Jarman Impey was penalised for holding the ball. Brisbane forward Hugh McCluggage then converted the resulting set shot to put the Lions in front.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell said he understood the intensity of the supporters’ emotions but insisted that throwing objects on to the field was unacceptable.
“The emotion of sport, it’s why we love it so much,” Mitchell said. “At the end of the game, part of me wanted to break down in tears. Part of me wanted to scream with rage. Part of me wanted to throw chairs.
“When you’re in the stands, you need to continue to feel that emotion, but we shouldn’t be throwing things on the field.”
Ron Issko, president of the AFL Fans Association, said the scale of the reaction had left him stunned.
“I’ve never seen a collective doing what they did like that,” he said on Sunday. “It wasn’t just one or two or five people. It looked like it was a few hundred people around the entire ground throwing stuff onto the ground. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Issko said those identified as having thrown objects should face consequences, even if it was impossible to find everyone involved.
“It’s just not on. If you want to do that to umpires, we won’t have umpires and we won’t have a game of footy,” he said.
The issue is expected to be discussed at the AFL Fans Association’s next meeting with the AFL. Issko said he was unsure how such widespread misconduct could be prevented from happening again.
