The decision to suspend the sale of alcohol from public booths at Carisbrook on Friday is a fair one, police say.
A publican, who declined to be named, contacted the Otago Daily Times to express his disappointment over the Carisbrook penalty.
The man said a similar police sting at his bottlestore several years ago earned him a three-day penalty.
"How does it work that for the same offence, the bars at Carisbrook are only closed down for 40 minutes?"
Last month, a police sting at the rugby ground resulted in a 16-year-old boy buying a four-pack of beer.
As a result, the Otago Rugby Football Union was stripped of its special licence to sell liquor at five of its liquor booths from halftime until 10pm in the Highlanders v Cheetahs Super XV game.
The rugby union's general manager did not dispute the facts, with the suspension authorised by the District Licensing Authority last week.
Dunedin police alcohol harm reduction officer Constable Neil Kettings said the agreed suspension was negotiated based on general Liquor Licensing Authority guidelines.
A first offence for a standalone liquor retail outlet was 24 hours, but there were few guidelines for special licences as they were usually for one-off events.
The Carisbrook suspension was given much deliberation, and the application to the District Licensing Agency was "fair", he said.
"This application seemed fair given that an event like a rugby game is for a short time span and can have crowds from 8000 to 20,000 people with a large proportion purchasing alcohol.
"It would not be expected that numbers like this would be visiting a typical off-licence and therefore, in comparison, seemed appropriate."
