Wild moment footy star brawls with pub security guard after being cut off from alcohol
- Luke McGuane was in court on Tuesday
- Former football star attacked a security guard
- The dispute was over his drunkenness
Former footy star Luke McGuane attacked a security guard, new footage shows, with the ex-Richmond star banned from drinking alcohol while complaining about delays in a class action against the AFL.
McGuane, who played 105 games for Richmond and enjoyed a brief spell with Brisbane before retiring in 2015, pleaded guilty to assault at the Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The charge related to an incident at Fat Freddy’s Bar in Broadbeach in March where the 37-year-old had been drinking with his father and friends.
The court heard how bar staff stopped serving alcohol before his father brought him a beer. That prompted a male security guard to confront McGuane, where he asked him to leave.
CCTV footage showed the security guard speaking to McGuane in what the prosecutor described as a calm and professional manner, before the former footy star stood up and confronted him.
Former footy star Luke McGuane attacked a security guard in a bar
CCTV footage showed the former Tigers star struggling with the security guard
He pleaded guilty to the charges during Tuesday’s court hearing
The guard raised his hands defensively, but McGuane grabbed him and began wrestling with him.
In the middle of the fight, a table is overturned and the pair struggle on the floor before being split up by bystanders and the police, who were already at the bar attending another disturbance.
McGuane’s attorney Jason Jacobson said the former tall forward had only been at the bar for about an hour and his medical condition made him appear drunker than he actually was.
“His debate with the security guard was intended to convince him that he was not that heavily intoxicated,” Jacobson said.
The court heard how McGuane was ‘financially destroyed’ after losing ‘hundreds of thousands’ of dollars following failed investments in a gym and barbershop during lockdown.
Jacobson also revealed McGuane was part of a class action lawsuit against the AFL, with former players seeking action over concussion.
McGuane played 105 games for Richmond and enjoyed a short spell in Brisbane
“His personal frustration had increased because 48 hours before this incident he had received news relating to the class action, of which he is part, in terms of the AFL’s concussion issues in Victoria,” Jacobson said.
“(He was told) that business there would be suspended for another 18 months.
‘That was something that affected him personally, to the point where he decided he wanted to relax a bit and go to the hotel with his father.
“He’s been struggling financially, and that’s why he’s pinning his hopes on the class action suit.”
McGuane was ordered to pay the guard $500 in compensation and was sentenced to nine months’ probation, but faced no recorded conviction.