The woman allegedly struck by an enraged man at last night’s AFL preliminary final has broken her silence on the incident.
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Onlookers subdued the man until police and security arrived. Her exact words were: “Just take a seat, watch the rest of the game”. I said, “mate, you need to sit down, you are ruining it for the children here” and he said “I don’t give a “f” about the kids, I’ll smash anyone who comes near me”.
Jody said alleges the man hit her with an open-hand “choker punch” to the throat before other supporters rushed to restrain him.
Sarah said her children were shaken and her eight-year-old stepdaughter will never attend an AFL match again, despite Friday’s game being the first she had been to.
The 38-year-old victim, who had asked the man to tone down his language, was treated by St John Ambulance officers for minor injuries.
A 24-year-old man from Joondanna was arrested over the incident.
Mr Yarran was remanded in custody until his next court appearance on October 5.
Outside Perth Magistrates Court, Yarran’s sister denied he hit the woman.
He was subsequently charged with assault.
“On the recording, you can hear people are saying, “kill him, kill him”, she said.
Domain Stadium announced on Saturday it had banned the man for life.
It wasn’t the only incident on a disappointing night, with Hawks players Isaac Smith and Luke Breust also involved in close calls with over-excited fans.
“(It) was completely unacceptable and doesn’t represent our game in any way. Children need to feel safe, women need to feel safe at the football and that behaviour can not be tolerated in any form.
McLachlan says he is incredibly angry about the violent act that has no place at the football or in society in general.
“This morning when I was speaking to my wife and my daughters were on speaker phone, I had to talk in code”.
“We are disappointed that the unacceptable behaviour of a small minority have tarnished last night’s game and the reputation of WA fans”. I apologise on behalf of our game to our supporters that they were represented in that light.
Anthony Cranswick, who was sitting near the incident, told The West Australian the male had been “really aggressive”.
“I noticed one of the police officers had a cut above his right eyebrow”.
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This year, during the Sydney Swans matches against both Perth teams, fans were ejected for making racist remarks towards Adam Goodes.
