GREATER Western Sydney football boss Jason McCartney has apologised after being fined $20,000 for his tense confrontation with Sydney star Tom Papley during Saturday afternoon's qualifying final at the SCG.

McCartney and Papley came together during the quarter-time break after the Swans forward had been at the centre of a melee that also involved Giants captain Toby Greene.

McCartney has copped a $20,000 sanction from the League, but he is still free to enter the field of play during breaks in games going forward.

It is the same financial punishment that North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson was given for verbally abusing two St Kilda players during a break in a pre-season match in March. Clarkson was also hit with a two-game suspended ban for the incident.

McCartney was also fined $20,000 in 2021 after he verbally abused the umpires at half-time of a clash with the Western Bulldogs.

"My intention was to shepherd some of our younger players to our team huddle," McCartney said.

"However, I understand that I should not have put myself in a position to have any interaction with an opposition player and I unreservedly apologise for my actions."

On Saturday afternoon, as players from both sides started to disperse from the melee and walk towards their respectively huddles at the first break, McCartney moved towards the group and looked to move some of his players away from Papley.

But he also looked at the Swans player, moved towards him and appeared to say something in his direction. The pair then collided before going their seperate ways.

"Jason has accepted responsibility for his role in the incident, understands the ramifications of his actions and is very remorseful," Giants CEO Dave Matthews said.

"A respected and highly regarded member of our industry, he has our full support in the important role he plays at our club."

Separately, Papley and Greene were both fined $1875 for the melee.

"Jason admitted his conduct on the weekend was unacceptable and that it falls well below what is expected by the AFL and the Giants," AFL General Counsel Stephen Meade said.

"The AFL took into account and appreciated McCartney's cooperation and contrition during the investigation.

"Opposition officials and players engaging each other on the field of play is something we don't want to see and we are grateful that things didn't escalate further on Saturday."

Back in March, just weeks after the Clarkson incident against St Kilda, Essendon runner Travis Cloke physically pulled a series of Bombers players away from a scuffle during a game, also against the Swans at the SCG. Cloke did not touch any opposition players during the incident.

The former Collingwood and Western Bulldogs player did not face any sanction from the League, but the AFL wrote to all clubs to remind them of a runner's on-field responsibilities.