- Fans were left bruised and bloodied after wild brawl at AFL match
- Radio host says soccer fans are treated differently by the media
Shocking new footage of women brawling at The Gabba on Saturday night has surfaced as a leading radio host claimed that violent AFL fans are treated very differently to soccer supporters who brawl at games.
Queensland Police are investigating the unsavoury incident which took place at around 7.05pm on Saturday after the Sydney Swans defeated the Brisbane Lions.
Video footage shows two women throwing punches at each other at the Gabba while several men also brawl in the background.
Several people were left bloodied and bruised by the incident, with those involved being removed from the venue by police.
A spokesperson for Queensland Police said they are aware of the incident and that further investigations will be conducted.
Melbourne radio host Jacqui Felgate weighed in on the ugly incident, insisting that media coverage would be very different if the brawl had occurred during a soccer match.
Ugly scenes unfolded at the Gabba on Saturday as fans supporting both Sydney and Brisbane brawled in the stadium (pictured)
‘If this happened at the soccer it would be a big deal,’ Felgate said on 3AW.
‘It’d be in all the papers and we would cover it on this program. We would have a debate about soccer hooliganism.
‘It got me thinking… it seems like there is one rule for the soccer where police come out and the government comes out and they make a thing of it…
‘I couldn’t think of a time recently where the soccer fans are actually brawling.’
Felgate then went on to explain that the AFL has had three ‘really violent incidents’ in recent times that she would not want her children to be close to at a match.
‘We cannot sit here and judge soccer fans as hooligans and have a massive go at them and talk about ethnic rivalry – which we do on a broader level – and not say “hang on a minute, I think the AFL might have a bit of a problem”,’ she said.
Felgate’s comments certainly struck a chord with Aussie soccer fans, with several taking to social media to commend her for speaking out.
‘Amen, Jacqui Felgate. About time football fans were treated with more respect in light of violent incidents at the AFL,’ posted journalist Sacha Pisani.
Radio host Jacqui Felgate says media coverage of the ugly scenes would be very different if the brawl had occurred during a soccer match
Police and security guards broke up the brawl at the Gabba and removed those involved from the stadium
‘100% top call,’ posted another.
‘She’s bang on the money here. Glad to finally see AFL media recognising the blatant double standards in their coverage of the two sports,’ posted a third.
The recent incident comes after Channel 7 star Andy Maher was caught in ugly scenes at the MCG while watching Carlton play Collingwood last month.
Security guards had to step in when Maher was confronted by a spectator he later described as ‘pretty pi**ed’ and ‘munted’.
‘Hopefully he woke up the next morning feeling like a right git because he carried on like a pork chop,’ Maher said afterwards.
