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Soccer fans will be able to watch this year’s World Cup at Federation Square after the state government overturned the venue’s decision to ban screenings of the tournament due to poor behaviour from viewers in past years.
“Yesterday Melbourne Arts Precinct decided that Fed Square won’t show Socceroos matches on the big screen,” Premier Jacinta Allan said in a statement. “I disagree with that – and I am overturning it.
“There’s always the risk of bad behaviour from a few dickheads at every public gathering, but police and security will be on-site and there’ll be zero tolerance for it.”
The decision to cancel the traditional screenings at Federation Square by the Arts Precinct prompted Football Australia and former Socceroos captain Craig Foster to put pressure on the state government to intervene.
Matilda’s star Sam Kerr also slammed Wednesday’s ban, sharing an Instagram post announcing the news captioned with: “Booooooooooo”.
Melbourne Arts Precinct director and chief executive Katrina Sedgwick said on Wednesday the decision was made because of inappropriate fan behaviour at previous viewing sessions, including the lighting of more than 120 flares or fireworks during one match. She said the decision was made without consultation with Football Australia or the state government.
“After the last Socceroos [World Cup] game that we screened, we picked up over 120 flares or fireworks, so we weren’t talking about a small issue, it was very significant,” Sedgwick told 3AW on Wednesday.
Patrick Clancy, the chair of Football Supporters Association Australia, called Allan’s decision to overturn the ban a “fantastic win for common sense”.
“We welcome the Victorian government’s decision. All football fans in Melbourne and Victoria very much look forward to … watching the Socceroos in action,” Clancy said.
“This clearly demonstrated how important Federation Square live sites to Melbourne Football supporters … It is an iconic place to watch the World Cup, whether it’s men’s or women’s.”
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Angus Delaney is a reporter at The Age. Email him at angus.delaney@theage.com.au or contact him securely on Signal at angusdelaney.31Connect via email.From our partners
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