Greater Western Sydney football boss Jason McCartney has been hit with a $20,000 fine for his fiery clash with Sydney star Tom Papley during the tense qualifying final on Saturday.
Tensions boiled over between the bitter rivals at quarter-time, when players from both sides were tangled in an aggressive fracas.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Jason McCartney and Tom Papley come together as tensions boil over.
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The fight broke out after the siren following a free kick to Papley, who was thrown to the ground by Toby Greene after attempting to kick a torpedo from 60 metres out.
Papley and Greene were suddenly going after each other and more players from each team came in.
But as things began to settle, McCartney was spotted in the middle of the action.
The Giants official moved towards Papley and the pair clashed before going their separate ways.
The AFL sanctioned the club for “conduct unbecoming”.
“Jason admitted his conduct on the weekend was unacceptable and that it falls well below what is expected by the AFL and the Giants,” AFL general counsel Stephen Meade said.
“The AFL took into account and appreciated McCartney’s cooperation and contrition during the investigation.
“Opposition officials and players engaging each other on the field of play is something we don’t want to see and we are grateful that things didn’t escalate further on Saturday.”
It is the same fine that North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson copped for verbally abusing two St Kilda players during a break in a pre-season match. Clarkson was also hit with a suspended two-game ban for the incident.
Geelong coach Chris Scott was handed a suspended fine for exchanging words with Lions star Lachie Neale in 2021.
Clubs received a fresh warning on the conduct of non-players earlier this year.
Essendon runner Travis Cloke, a Collingwood premiership hero, got involved to separate Bombers players during a scuffle with Sydney.
Cloke avoided a formal please explain.
