A disturbing incident unfolded at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday night when a man in his early 30s was violently attacked by a group of Hawthorn Football Club supporters. The brawl occurred shortly after the final siren of the Hawks’ defeat to premiership favourites Collingwood, in front of a crowd of more than 83,700 fans.
The altercation took place in the stands behind Hawthorn’s cheer squad and resulted in the ejection of 10 spectators from the venue. Vision of the brawl, which has since circulated widely on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), shows three men – all wearing Hawthorn hats and scarves – physically assaulting a lone man in a stairwell.
The video captures the 32-year-old victim being punched and kicked repeatedly while he struggles to keep his footing on the stairs. At one point, one of the assailants strikes him with the stick from a rolled-up Hawthorn flag. The chaotic scene was made worse by the audible yelling and swearing of onlookers, some of whom appeared to be in shock.
Despite the violence, not all Hawthorn fans were complicit. Several in the surrounding area could be heard trying to de-escalate the situation, urging the aggressors to stop.
Security staff were alerted by members of the crowd and quickly intervened to break up the fight. The attackers were subsequently escorted from the stadium along with several others involved or deemed to be acting inappropriately.
The motive behind the attack remains unclear, but tensions were visibly high following Hawthorn’s third consecutive loss, this time to the dominant Collingwood side, who ran out comfortable winners in the high-profile fixture.
The MCG declined to comment on the incident on Saturday, stating that the matter is now under police investigation. Victoria Police is believed to be reviewing the footage as part of ongoing inquiries into the violence.
The AFL and the Hawthorn Football Club have also been contacted for comment. A spokesperson for the AFL confirmed the league was aware of the incident.
“The AFL has been made aware of the matter,” the spokesperson said. “We take incidents of this nature very seriously and will work with the relevant authorities and clubs to ensure appropriate action is taken.”
No arrests have been confirmed at this stage, but further disciplinary or legal action may follow once the investigation is complete.
The incident has raised renewed concerns over crowd behaviour and fan violence at major sporting events. With the AFL season heating up, league officials may come under pressure to tighten security protocols and issue stronger deterrents to prevent similar scenes in the future.
