Football legend turned prominent commentator Craig Foster has slammed the "ridiculous" decision by Fed Square to not show Socceroos matches at the upcoming World Cup. The iconic Melbourne venue has become a staple for football fans to watch the Socceroos and Matildas compete on the world stage, often in the early hours of the morning.
Fed Square has hosted viewing parties dating back to 2006 when the Socceroos qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974. The venue has become synonymous with some of the Socceroos and Matildas biggest moments, with wild celebration clips quickly going viral around the world.
But Fed Square has decided to not show matches this year due to the spate of "unacceptable and damaging" incidents during the 2022 World Cup, and also the 2023 Women's World Cup. Dozens of flares were lit and a huge police presence was needed throughout the Women's World Cup when the Matildas captivated the nation with a history-making run to the semi-finals. However, dangerous crowd rushes and "more than 50" illegal flares were lit during the semi-final loss against England, which contributed to this year's move.
Ahead of the 2024 Olympics tournament, Fed Square introduced new safety measures to keep fans safe, but there will be no viewing parties this year. "Like so many Australians, we're absolutely thrilled to see the Socceroos back on the world stage, and we'll be cheering them on every step of the way of the World Cup," Melbourne Arts Precinct Director and CEO Katrina Sedgwick said in a statement. "But after careful consideration, we've made the decision not to show the World Cup on Fed Square's big screen this year. This is due to the behaviour of a small number of people at previous screenings which was simply unacceptable and damaging to Fed Square."
This year's World Cup, held in USA, Mexico and Canada, begins next month. Australia open their campaign against Turkiye on June 14 at the fan-friendly time of 2pm AEST. The Socceroos' other matches are against USA on June 20 at 5am AEST and Paraguay on June 26 12pm AEST. There are expected to be other venues across Melbourne, which will host viewing parties.
But Foster urged Fed Square to reconsider their decision and called on Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen to intervene. "Ridiculous decision. 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 in their passion for the Matildas or Socceroos," he tweeted. "Kids, families, all cultures, faiths. It's an important time for Aussies to feel together, watch the world's largest sporting event, share in the national spirit. The vision of fans in different cities all sharing in the experience has become a hallmark of both female and male World Cups, connecting the country through. All stakeholders should be working to overturn this absurd decision."
Fans were up in arms at the decision. "We've become a nation of killjoys and we created it," one said. "There has to be other ways to try to mitigate bad behaviour by 0.1 per cent of the crowd - this is a spectacle that excites the whole country when they witness the celebrations at Fed Square," another said. "This is a genuine disgrace," another raged. "This world is cooked. Some of the best atmosphere I've been involved with," another said.
