The fallout from the altercation between Steven May and Jake Melksham continues to hit the Demons with both players now unavailable for selection as a result of the incident.
Melbourne revealed on Wednesday that Melksham will be unavailable for selection due to the Sunday night scuffle with May.
The former Bomber had to undergo surgery to clean up an infection in his hand as a consequence of his actions.
May has also been given a club-imposed ban of one week for the altercation as well as drinking under concussion protocols that kept him sidelined for the Demons' round 12 loss to the Swans.
According to the Herald Sun, May allegedly made comment about Melksham's absence from the Grand Final in 2021, suggesting if he were included, the result would have been different.
"If you had have played in the granny (grand final) we would have lost," May reportedly told Melksham.
"It is claimed that Melksham then "floored" 190cm May with one punch in retaliation," the report said.
The Prahran restaurant, Entrecote, spoke on the matter shortly after the altercation, claiming the players broke the "venue's reception desk".
However, since Sunday night, Melbourne and both players have apologised to the restaurant, an act that was posted on their Instagram.
In a video released by the club, May apologises for his behaviour and shows remorse for letting his teammates and fans down.
"There's nothing I can really say, it's all about actions and what I do going forward," May said.
“I know they’ll be extremely disappointed – our fans and supporters have been huge fans of mine and have backed me in.
“I feel really apologetic to them – they’ve always had my back.
“Me not being out on the field is letting them down, letting the team down."
Despite their disagreement, May said he's worked things out with Melksham and sometimes the competitiveness gets the better of them.
“We’re really good mates, we have a lot of love for each other,” he said.
“Sometimes guys can get a little bit competitive with the banter and go a little bit overboard.
“We certainly made an error of judgement in that time.
“We certainly didn’t mean for any of this to come back on the footy club."
Melbourne have lost their past two matches to contenders Fremantle and Sydney at the MCG and look to be in a vulnerable position in the upcoming game against Collingwood.
May will miss the traditional Queen's Birthday clash in what is a crucial game to get the reigning premiers' season back on track.
