Victoria Police have revealed two men have been arrested and charged after being found to be in possession of loaded firearms at Thursday's game between Collingwood and Carlton at the MCG, with the AFL since taking action.
A 21-year-old from Roxburgh Park and a 27-year-old from Broadmeadows reportedly garnered the attention of police at the venue amid issues with fellow patrons, with subsequent searches leading police to find alleged concealed firearms.
The weapons were found down the pants of the men, who are set to face Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Monday after being charged with several offences.
โPolice were called by security at the MCG to assist with two males refusing to leave the venue due to their behaviour,โ A police statement read, via 7news.com.au.
โAs a consequence, police have arrested two males and during a search it is alleged two firearms were located on each of these males.
โNo one was injured during the incident.
โA 21-year-old Roxburgh Park man and a 27-year-old Broadmeadows man are currently in custody being interviewed.โ
According to 7 News' Andrew McCormack, both men were out on bail.
The 27-year-old has been charged with possess unregistered handgun, possess ammunition without a licence, alter serial number of a firearm, possess loaded firearm, possess prohibited item, and fail to appear on bail.
The 21-year-old has been charged with prohibited person possess firearm, possess ammunition without licence, and commit indictable offence whilst on bail.
The AFL has since revealed that both men have been issued lifetime bans from attending matches, while the league will increase secondary security measures this weekend.
In a statement from CEO Andrew Dillon, it has also been revealed that "security personnel failed to do a thorough follow up search" of the two patrons in question.
"Overnight the MCG worked to identify how the two men were able to enter the venue, which concluded that security personnel failed to do a thorough follow up search of the patrons after an alert from the entry point screening system," the statement read.
"There will be additional secondary security measures in place this weekend, and the MCC in conjunction with Victoria Police and the AFL will conduct an end to end review of security measures at the ground.
"What happened last night is extremely disappointing, more than 1.2 million fans have attended the football so far this season and we will work closely with authorities to ensure the matches and venues continue to be a safe and welcoming place for all."
AFLPA boss Paul Marsh said the incident was "extremely concerning and frankly unacceptable".
"Every person who attends an AFL match, including the players, staff, and fans, deserve to do so knowing there are effective measures in place to protect their health and safety," Marsh said in a statement.
"What occurred at the MCG last night is extremely concerning and frankly unacceptable.
"We have been in discussions with the AFL this morning and have an understanding of what transpired. Pleasingly and appropriately, they have committed to additional security measures for the rest of this weekend as well as a comprehensive review of security measures at all grounds.
"We will continue to discuss the outcomes of this review with the AFL."
Over 82,000 fans were in attendance for the Round 4 match, which saw Collingwood record a 17-point win over Carlton.
