Three Collingwood fans charged over alleged bashing of Nathan Jones' father

[one-eyed]

Three Collingwood fans charged over alleged bashing
Stephen Drill
April 04, 2009 07:45pm

THREE Collingwood fans were arrested for allegedly bashing a Demon player's father outside the MCG after the game yesterday.

Witnesses said they were sickened by what they described as an unprovoked attack on Brad Jones, the father of Demon Nathan Jones, as he was leaving the ground with son Zac, 14, after the Magpies' 53 point win.

Witnesses said the Collingwood supporters were abusing Melbourne fans outside the ground before allegedly punching Mr Jones in the face and upper body as Zac watched on in shock.

During the brawl one of the attackers lost his shirt as Mr Jones tried to defend himself.

Police arrested three men at the scene about 5pm.

A crowd gathered to watch the arrest and Pies and Demons fans swore at the men in disgust, witnesses said.

Mr Jones was left covered in blood, with fears he could have been seriously injured.

Ambulance officers treated him for his injuries before he was taken to St Vincent's Hospital with a suspected broken nose and cheekbone.

Zac was cared for in the Demon clubrooms afterwards.

Demons president Jim Stynes said the club was shocked by the attack.

``We want to keep this as a family sport rather than a thug sport,'' he said.

``Fans should maintain the spirit of the game after the siren sounds and celebrate with the spirit of humility.

"First and foremost The Melbourne Football Club is for family. Everyone is welcome at our games. Everyone must feel safe and secure and free to express their passion for the club they support.

"One of the great things about the culture of AFL football is this type of behaviour is very rare. Irrespective of who you support - supporter violence is just not on.”

One witness, who asked not to be named, said the violence was more like a soccer brawl than a quiet afternoon watching the footy at the MCG.

``It's the worst football bashing I have seen,'' he said.

A statement from the Melbourne Football Club confirmed the incident.

Police are currently investigating the matter.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25290100-661,00.html

[mightytiges]

These thugs should be banned for life and locked up.

[Hellenic Tiger]

That is an awful act of savagery.
These so called thugs should never be allowed to enter an AFL arena ever again after they serve their jail time.

I could make a comment on the type of fans that Collingwood mostly attracts but that would take away from the fact that this act is unprovoked on a man  with a young child with him and decent society should not stand for this.

This club just cannot stay out of the news whether their players or their fans.
The fish rots at the head.

[mightytiges]

This club just cannot stay out of the news whether their players or their fans.
The fish rots at the head.

Well said. The silence is deafening 

[wayne]

As someone said on SEN, if it wasn't a players father then it wouldn't be getting so much coverage.

Supporters of all teams do it though, not just Collingscum fans.

I was at a Richmond versus Demons game a few years back. The Tigers were getting flogged and a fellow tiger supporter was sitting behind us, kicking the seats and cursing his head off. One of the girls with me turned and looked and copped an earful of abuse. I heard it but didn't say anything. At halftime, the guy was leaving and another girl with us looked at him and she copped some full on abuse from him. I stood up and told him to eff off and he asked me to come outside with him to sort it out. I told him again to eff off, then my cousin Matt realised what was happening and, let's just say if Matt had navigated the seats cleanly, this guy would have been ripped in two.

The worst thing though, was this guy had his young boy with him!

I hope this wasn't anyone from this forum!