“Embarrassed” Richmond players have denied they were referencing or making light of the Sydney Swans saga during Mad Monday celebrations at a Victorian pub.

The Tigers were filmed at The Garfield Hotel, about 80km east of Melbourne, where the team had booked out the venue following the end of the club’s 2026 season.

Footage captured by news outlets on Monday showed one player feigning shock after being spanked on the rear by a teammate, while an additional clip showed a player whipping another across the back with a belt.

The footage prompted scrutiny amid suggestions the antics appeared to reference the scandal engulfing Sydney, where a police investigation into allegations of sexual assault is underway.

There is no suggestion of criminal wrongdoing by any Richmond player, and the circumstances surrounding the Tigers footage are markedly different from the serious allegations surrounding the Sydney Swans being investigated by Victoria Police.

The Tigers released a statement on Tuesday.

“Richmond is aware of a video circulating from a player end-of-season gathering,” the statement read.

“The club has spoken to the players who have expressed their embarrassment over their behaviour.

“The players are adamant they were in no way referencing or making light of recent matters.”

It comes after the venue where the players were gathered launched a spirited defence of the team, the controversy has been “blown out of proportion”.

“In our view, this has been blown out of proportion,” The Garfield Hotel said in a statement posted to social media.

The pub said it “could not speak more highly” of the players and their behaviour throughout the afternoon.

“For such a young group, they were extremely respectful and a fun group of boys to deal with,” the statement read.

“They enjoyed a few quiet beers to unwind after a long season, and we see nothing wrong with that.

“They had booked out the venue for the afternoon, so they were the only patrons on site.

“They enjoyed their afternoon and moved on.”

The hotel also turned its attention to the media gathered outside the venue, claiming reporters had been waiting for the players “in the hope of capturing a misstep, which we consider disappointing”

The Richmond footage emerged just hours after AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon publicly addressed the Sydney saga for the first time and warned against allowing the focus on footballers to overshadow the women at the centre of the police investigation.

Sydney players Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon have been suspended for the remainder of the season for breaching club standards following events at a Melbourne hotel.

Victoria Police is separately investigating a report of sexual assault. No charges have been laid, and The Nightly is making no suggestion the five suspended players have committed any criminal wrongdoing.

“While there are players involved, we cannot lose sight of the bigger picture. More importantly, there are women who have made a report to police and they should be shown care and respect,” Dillon said.

“I have been asked a lot in recent days, what message football should be sending young people and what we should be saying to our kids.

“For me, the answer is straightforward: it doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter what you do, whether you’re an AFL footballer - the way we treat women says a lot about who we are as people, as a community and as a game.

“Quite simply, respect for women is not negotiable.”

It comes as Bice was revealed as the play who organised and paid for the topless waitresses to come to the Pullman Hotel last week by Channel 7 reporter Tom Morris.

“Riley Bice was the Sydney Swans player who organised the topless waitresses to come to the Pullman Hotel,” Morris said on The Agenda Setters.

“He’s the one who paid the topless waitresses to come to the hotel.

Riley Bice was the single teammate who was given the responsibility of doing something that has ultimately blown up the club and potentially the careers of four teammates.

“He is not without fault but I think he’s a young player that’s been put in a position by older teammates that should know a lot better.”

In a further development revealed by 7NEWS on Monday night, four Sydney officials, including coach Dean Cox, have given statements to police.

Head of football Leon Cameron, welfare boss Brett Kirk and media manager Tom Chadwick also spoke to police in recent days.

None of the four were involved in the alleged incident.

The players involved in the alleged incident have yet to be formally interviewed by police.