‘He went berserk’: How vicious MCG brawl started with free kick decision

A free kick awarded to Richmond spawned the series of events that ended in a vicious brawl at the MCG on Thursday night, with a witness saying a teenage Tigers supporter was "out to fight anyone".

The melee involving six men occurred after the final siren of Thursday night's Richmond vs Carlton season opener, with police fining a 19-year-old Eltham man $322 for riotous behaviour and investigators still determining whether to lay any charges.

Police are investigating the brawl at the MCG on Thursday night.Credit:SAM WEBSTER/RHYS WILKINSON.

"That fired him right up. He then stood up and started abusing the other guy who told to him quieten down, saying 'come outside with me you weak b****’ over and over with his mates holding him back."

Mr Gazzard said the man in the Richmond singlet continued to ask the other man to fight him, before security arrived to calm him down.

The man then sat down in his seat and "played cool", according to Mr Gazzard, before security left the area.

Halfway through the last quarter, the teenager singlet left the grandstand.

Footage shows a group of men involved in the brawl, while the Tigers club song plays in the background.

But Mr Gazzard said he reappeared at the conclusion of the match, deliberately confronting the men who told him to be quiet.

"The other guys were just trying to leave but this bloke wanted the fight to happen," he said.

"He then went berserk. He knocked out one guy, then the other with about 20 punches … he knew how to fight, he was trained."

Mr Gazzard believed security failed by not ejecting the man after the initial incident.

"None of this would have happened if he was ejected, as he should have been. He was looking to fight anyone he could," said Mr Gazzard.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan was critical of the time it took for security to attend the brawl.

After the brawl ended, Mr Gazzard said he spoke to three men who were punched by the man in question.

"They had blood running down their necks, one had his eye closing over like a boxer … we all told them we'd be witnesses if he pressed charges, but he said no," he said.

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