A Collingwood member has been banned for the rest of the year after making contact with West Coast player Harvey Johnston over the fence during Sunday's game at Marvel Stadium.
The incident took place in the fourth quarter when Johnston collected the ball near the boundary and approached the ground's barrier, where the Magpies fan grabbed Johnston before retrieving the ball.
There was seemingly no malice or threat from the fan involved, who assisted police and security shortly after the incident took place.
While the AFL has appreciated the fan's contrition, a review into the matter has led to the Collingwood member being banned from all AFL and AFLW matches for the rest of 2024. Six months of the ban is suspended.
In an AFL statement, AFL General Counsel Stephen Meade said condemned the actions of the Collingwood fan.
“While we acknowledge the innocuous nature in which the incident played out on the day, these types of interactions should not happen. Grabbing a player from over the fence could have potentially escalated if it wasn't for the professional manner in which Eagles player Harvey responded.” Mr Meade said.
“We also acknowledge the fan involved proactively made himself known to security and Police and apologised to both Collingwood, West Coast and the AFL, and recognise his immediate understanding of his actions not being acceptable.
“We have the best fans in sport, and more than 3.1 million people have attended the footy this year and we want everyone who comes to games to barrack for their club and enjoy the experience, but when you overstep the clear boundaries, which is what happened on the weekend, then you will lose the privilege of being able to attend the footy.
“Reinforcing what we communicated last year - we love the interactions between players and fans especially in the moments pre and post-game, and the occasion in-game when a player celebrates with his club's fans - however what we saw on Sunday during the match is not acceptable.”
The suspended portion of the ban will be in place for two years.