CBR Brave chairman stood down after beer and bin-throwing brawl at AIHL game against Sydney Bears

The chairman of an Australian ice hockey team is now out of a job after being involved in a beer and bin-throwing brawl at a game. 

CBR Brave Chairman Peter Chamberlain issued an apology and stepped down from his role for an ugly incident described by the club as an "escalation of tensions" at Macquarie Ice Arena. 

"I would like to apologise to the players, staff and fans of the Sydney Bears, the AIHL and the CBR Brave for my part in the altercation at Saturday’s game," Chamberlain said in a statement. 

"I have spoken with my co-directors and it has been agreed that I will step aside as chairman of the CBR BRAVE until further notice."

Standing near the supporter seating above the Bears' bench, Chamberlain got into a verbal altercation with the Sydney players below late in the game, when he is believed to have poured beer onto players. Bears players squirted water at him in retaliation.

The situation escalated however when another man picked up a bin and threw it at Chamberlain, causing fans to rush into a push-and-shove.

"Emotions from both sides became heightened in the final seconds of an otherwise fantastic game and I let mine get the better of me, retaliating to what I thought was inappropriate but conceding in hindsight, that in doing so, I only made matters worse," Chamberlain said.

"I am fully aware that interacting with the players bench during a game is unacceptable behavior.