Marvel Stadium management are responsible for the sudden crackdown on crowd behaviour and not the AFL, according to SEN Time On host Sam McClure.
An increased security presence over the weekend has heightened tensions amongst outraged fans, with Behavioural Awareness Officers spotted at Marvel Stadium on Friday and Saturday night.
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has denied claims the league is responsible for the intensified security visibility at the AFL-owned venue, after Marvel Stadium CEO Michael Green took ownership of the matter on AFL Nation yesterday.
“Marvel Stadium, as of this morning, has agreed to tone down its security presence after a frustrated CEO Gillon McLachlan essentially summoned Michael Green, the CEO of Marvel Stadium, to his office this morning,” McClure told SEN’s Time On.
“The AFL has consistently told us that at no stage did it initiate a crackdown on fan behaviour. A lot of us haven’t believed the AFL, but what we can tell you now is that the league is telling the truth.
“The crackdown came from Marvel Stadium and the MCG, so essentially Melbourne’s two main football stadiums.
“The MCG also increased their security protocols; not increased their raw numbers. The MCG also changed their protocols, but no one has complained about that, because they’ve got the balance right.”
Two Carlton fans were ejected from Saturday night’s game against North Melbourne, while a Blues fan a week prior was removed for calling an umpire a “bald headed flog”.
Undercover spotters have also been reportedly seen in the Richmond cheer squad to monitor any potential unruly behaviour.