FORMER Labor senator John Button was among more than 1000 angry MCC members and their guests locked out of the MCG before the Collingwood-Geelong clash last night.

"This is appalling. It's a disgrace," said Mr Button, a long-time Cats supporter. "You'd be much better not to belong to the MCC."

The chaos prompted the AFL to hand out standing room tickets to many MCC members or guests who had paid $93 to watch the game. Mr Button finally managed to get into the ground just before the end of the first quarter, but many others were not so fortunate.

Jason and Kirsten, both paid $93 for tickets to the game with no allocated seating. They described chaotic scenes outside the ground once the lock-out was announced.

"Everyone was pushing to get in and there were a lot of young kids there, and they were getting squashed," Jason said. "It was a bit bizarre for the MCC crowd to be so unruly."

The couple arrived at the match around 7pm, just before the lock-out. They blamed the MCC for not warning patrons of the possibility of a lockout.

The couple, like many patrons refused entry, flooded the city's bars and clubs to watch the match on TV.

A fan, Gavin, said: "Our frustration is that we have people inside the ground who are saving us seats. So we got here just in time to get locked out."

Among those devastated to miss out on seeing the thrilling game were patrons who had left their seats and scanned out to either have a cigarette or meet friends.

"Many people were upset because they were locked out after they had already been scanned in a first time," said one fan.

Ian McCole collected his Reserve seats for the game around 3pm and returned to work, only to miss out on seats when he arrived for the game at 7pm.

Roger Burns said it was "outrageous" that the visitor passes had been sold during the week, denying members entry.

Geelong supporter Peter Rattray secured a seat after queuing from 4pm, but was subsequently locked out after leaving the ground to kick a football with a friend. "It's a joke," he said.

One distressed parent had children inside the arena and was furious that he could not get back to join them.

Soon after the lock-out, the normally well-behaved members booed heartily and swore at officials who failed to provide updates to the increasingly agitated crowd. Many left in disgust, complaining that their $519 membership did not get them into the most eagerly awaited final in Victoria in years.

Later, after the first offer of AFL standing room tickets, regular updates were broadcast to those still hoping to see the game.

MCC spokesman Shane Brown told The Age people were turned away after the members reserve reached capacity and was closed at 7.10pm. "There were a number of people with pre-purchased visitor tickets who hadn't arrived at the ground by that stage, so some of them weren't able to get in" he said.