The pub that hosted Richmond for their end-of-season celebrations has come to the players’ defence after they were filmed appearing to whip each other.

The Tigers headed to the Garfield Hotel, about 80km south east of Melbourne, to celebrate Mad Monday after finishing their AFL season with a defeat to Geelong on Saturday.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Richmond’s Mad Monday sparks fresh AFL controversy

In a statement, the Garfield Hotel said the Richmond players booked out the entire venue and were nothing but respectful during their time at the pub.

“We hosted the Richmond Football Club at our venue today, and we could not speak more highly of the way they conducted themselves,” the statement reads.

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

“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. In our view, this has been blown out of proportion.

“Two members of the media were waiting on their arrival this morning and remained on site filming in the hope of capturing a misstep, which we consider disappointing.”

There is no suggestion the players have broken any behavioural rules.

But Channel 7 expert Kane Cornes said it was “embarrassing” to see.

“I’ve only just seen this, but just embarrassing. Firstly, what are you celebrating? It’s a team that’s finished 17th for the second season in a row,” he said on 7NEWS.

“They won three games and you’re out during the day celebrating while your fans are hurting.

“To be there with your tops off in view of the public is just nothing more than an embarrassment to me.

“It’s not the first time Richmond have done it. They’re not the only club that dresses up like morons when it comes to this stage of the year, particularly for teams that have nothing to celebrate.

“It’s embarrassing, it’s mortifying, and I’m not sure why clubs continue to allow their players to act like this.”

The Tigers won just three matches for the year, twice against West Coast and once against Essendon.