'Beat up': Leigh Matthews says fan's ban for Michael Voss threat was 'way over the top'

In the wake of the 'death threat' levied at Carlton coach Michael Voss that saw a Collingwood member banned from attending AFL games for five years, Leigh Matthews has been left wondering whether the punishment was too severe, given what was actually in the text.

The Australian football legend says because the contents of the message were revealed last, days after the incident was initially reported, many had beaten up the story in their heads believing it was genuinely a death threat pointed in the direction of Voss, likely from an enraged Carlton supporter.

Matthews, however, believes that in reality it was simply a poorly executed joke from an intoxicated Collingwood member, and if the message itself had been revealed at the start of the week instead of at the end, few would have felt it warranted a five-year ban.

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"I'd like to report 23 missing persons and pre-emptively report the murder of Michael Voss," the text from the Collingwood supporter to the MCG's anti-social hotline read, following the Magpies' win over their arch rivals.

The anti-social hotline's purpose is to allow fans to report poor behaviour quietly. Clearly, the Pies fan thought it would be humorous to send the message to the hotline, given the current troubled state of the Blues.

The AFL and the MCG have barred him from attending games for five years, while the Pies have torn up his club membership.

The revelation that it was a Collingwood fan who sent the message, and not an angry Carlton supporter, is another factor in Matthews' assessment of the text simply being a bad joke, rather than anything malicious.

"I was in the cab on the way to the airport and the driver told me 'gee that death threat to Michael Voss was terrible', and I thought to myself, 'that is the impression of people who only read headlines'," Matthews told 3AW on Saturday.

"The headlines said there was a death threat against Michael Voss, and that's how it started early in the week, and I thought to myself about how careful you have to be, because when the words came out later in the week ... the word murder, I shouldn't even say it because that can get you (banned for) five years.

"This was only a misplaced joke. To be honest you think to yourself, 'how did this get beat up out of proportion'?

"There are a lot of bad things being said online and on social media and they're tracking people down now and maybe it was one of those sacrificial lamb things. 'We'll give you five years as a principle'.

"But I thought it was just misplaced humour. It was nowhere near a threat to Michael Voss, yet the word 'murder' was in the sentence, so that was the mistake.

"If the words sent were the first thing published about the story, would most people looking at it go 'murder is a bad word but geez there was nothing there that was threatening'.

"Did you ever think you would read that and say 'that was a death threat to Michael Voss', as opposed to his name just being in the sentence.

"He's copped a five year ban for all these other terrible things that pop up on social media, but five years for that set of words is way, way over the top."

It has been reported that the supporter did not receive a lifetime ban due to Victoria Police's decision not to view the message as a genuine death threat.

Voss was surrounded by extra security during round 18's clash with Brisbane, out of precaution.