THE AFL has completed its follow-up into a matter from Sunday’s clash between Melbourne and Carlton at the MCG, where Clayton Oliver had had a verbal exchange with a member of the crowd.

It was the AFL’s view that players should not engage with the crowd in such a manner at any time.

Oliver has since been counselled on this by Melbourne, following discussions with the AFL, and the club has apologised to the patron. 

General manager of football operations Josh Mahoney said “Clayton let his emotions get the better of him and should not have reacted in the manner that he did”.  

“In this instance, Clayton has heard a sledge from that general section of the crowd and has reacted directly to the fan in question in an unprofessional manner,” he said.

“Clayton acknowledges that the man in question did not use a profanity and accepts his fault in the situation. As a club, we apologise for the offence caused and Clayton understands this should not occur again.”

Mahoney said the club had spoken to its players about the incident, and what to do if anything similar happened again.

“We have spoken to Clayton and the entire playing group regarding their interaction with the crowd and said that no positives come out of any immediate response,” he said.

“If the player feels that he was vilified in any way, there is a process to report that to the AFL and have it investigated.

“The disappointing nature of this incident is that it takes attention away from Clayton’s performance and the win of the team.”