Federation Square will not show any of Australia’s World Cup matches, ending one of the most beloved Aussie soccer traditions.
Venue management has cited previous fan incidents as the reason they have decided to stop showing the Socceroos on the big screen.
It comes after a number of incidents during the 2022 Men’s and 2023 Women’s World Cup where several fans were injured and fined by the police.
Things really came to a head in the 2022 Round of 16 tie, where the fire brigade had to be called to extinguish flares lit by the fans in attendance.
Melbourne Arts Precinct chief executive Katrina Sedgwick said the decision had been made due to the behaviour of a small number of people.
It brings to a close a long-standing event that dates back to the 2006 World Cup campaign where Australia broke their drought of appearances.
Melbourne Arts Precinct has undertaken the decision to end the fan viewings of the World Cup in Federation Square after a number incidents across the 2022 and 2023 Men’s and Women’s World Cups respectively
Over 15,000 fans gathered at Fed Square to watch the Matildas’ semi-final loss to England in 2023
Sam Kerr was among those expressing her frustration at the decision to no longer show the World Cup at Fed Square
Sedgwick told the Herald Sun, they had made the decision because of the ‘behaviour of a small number of people at previous screenings which was simply unacceptable and damaging to Fed Square.’
That has left fans raging at the decision and even women’s star Sam Kerr joined in by expressing her anger.
She simply posted on her Instagram story with the caption ‘booooooooooo.’
Kerr was not alone in taking to social media as one user posted on X, ‘Scenes so good, Fed Square is determined to never experience them again.’
Another wrote, ‘Fed Square during the 2022 World Cup is where EVERYONE came together to support Australia and show pride for the country.
‘I have never seen the national anthem sung as loudly and with as much passion than at these events. This has to be overturned.’
Former Socceroo Craig Foster also weighed in, saying, ‘Every World Cup brings the nation together, hundreds of thousands of Aussies standing shoulder to shoulder, around the country, often through the night, even in the cold and rain to share their passion for the Matildas or Socceroos.
‘All stakeholders should be working to overturn this absurd decision.’
Football Australia chief executive has also joined in the calls to reinstate the screenings at Fed Square, saying in a statement, ‘The FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world and unites Australia’s multicultural communities, while reinforcing our national identity.
‘Live sites create iconic moments for Australian sports fans. They bring all Australians together to celebrate and cheer our National Teams competing on the biggest stage.
‘Melbourne is one of Australia’s sporting and multicultural capitals, and this decision goes against this tradition.
‘Federation Square has created some of the most memorable moments in Australian sporting history, dating back to the Socceroos’ historic 2006 FIFA World Cup matches and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
‘This decision is disappointing, and we are asking our fans to join us in calling on the Melbourne Arts Precinct and the Victorian Government to correct their decision in the best interests of football fans, local businesses and all Victorians.’
His sentiments were echoed by the chair of the Football Supporters Association Australia, Patrick Clancy, ‘The pictures and videos of Fed Square during World Cup 2022 went viral around the world, we want to see this repeated.’
Over 10,000 fans had turned out in Fed Square over the course of the 2022 Men’s World Cup campaign highlighting the popularity of these screenings.
A number of incidents led to the closure of the fan park including Argentinian fans suffering injuries and burns from flares
Barriers had also been knocked down during the Matildas semi-final leading to their third-place play-off not being shown in Fed Square
But they have come with their own set of issues despite being a place that has been touted as somewhere for people to come together.
Two Argentinian fans were injured and hospitalised with burns from flares during their tie with Lionel Messi’s side.
And the issues carried over to the 2023 Women’s World Cup, where barriers were torn down and flares lit again.
Due to the incidents at the semi-final, the venue decided not to show the third-placed play-off against Sweden.
And that decision has now stuck for the tournament coming in June.
Over 15,000 fans showed up to the World Cup semi-final event, where the Matildas would eventually lose to England.
Hume City Councillor Naim Kurt took to Twitter to express his frustration at the decision but also took it as an opportunity to announce that Hume would be hosting live sites.
‘Borderline UnAustralian to not have the peoples square showing the Socceroos,’ he wrote.
‘But Fed Square’s loss is Hume’s gain as our Council will be hosting a family friendly World Cup live site in Broadmeadows.
‘Starting with Aus v Turkiye game 2pm Sunday June 14th. All are welcome!’
So, it appears that while Fed Square will no longer be the site for fans, many will be able to congregate and enjoy the Socceroos campaign.
