Australian rules-'Duck!' - health official advises fans not to touch ball

South Australia's senior health official has advised fans to avoid touching the ball as a safety measure if it is kicked into the crowd at an Australian rules match at Adelaide Oval this weekend. Melbourne club Collingwood Magpies will play against the hometown Adelaide Crows on Saturday after being given special permission to cross the closed state border from Victoria, which is in lockdown after an outbreak of COVID-19 cases.

Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier spoke to the media on Wednesday to explain the decision and detail the health protocols for the Australian Football League (AFL) game. "(The Collingwood players) will not be making contact with anyone in SA except the players in the Crows team," she told reporters.

"We cannot have any interaction at all. We're looking at the seating at the moment and we're looking at the ball. "Not that I've been to many football games (but) I have noticed occasionally it does get kicked into the crowd and we are working through the details of what that will mean.

"If you are at Adelaide Oval and the ball comes towards you, my advice to you is to duck and do not touch that ball." The comments provoked amusement given the frequency with which the ball goes in the crowd in a sport where punting it high in the air between goalposts earns points.

Australia has been largely successful at containing the spread of COVID-19 and big crowds have been turning out to watch AFL matches since the start of the season. A crowd of 78,113 packed into the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) a match between Collingwood and Essendon in late April and Adelaide Oval hosted 43,069 fans last month for the clash between the Crows and city rivals Port Adelaide.

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