Football Australia wants World Cup venue ban lifted

Football Australia has urged the Victorian government to reverse a ban on World Cup matches being shown on big screens at Melbourne's Federation Square.

Australia supporters have gathered there to watch tournament matches since 2006.

However, the Melbourne Arts Precinct, which manages the venue, said behaviour in previous years had been "unacceptable and damaging".

Video of fans celebrating went viral during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as Australia advanced to the last 16, but there were incidents involving people being injured by flares and projectiles.

Supporters also stormed barricades during the 2023 Women's World Cup semi-final between Australia and England, leading to the screening of the Matildas' third-place play-off being cancelled at the square.

"After careful consideration, we've made the decision not to show the World Cup on Fed Square's Big Screen this year," said Melbourne Arts Precinct director and CEO Katrina Sedgwick on Wednesday.

"This is due to the behaviour of a small number of people at previous screenings which was simply unacceptable and damaging to Fed Square."

Image caption,

Melbourne's Federation Square

But Football Australia has urged people to support calls for the Melbourne Arts Precinct and the state's government to change the "disappointing" decision "in the best interests of football fans, local businesses and all Victorians".

Martin Kugeler, chief executive of the governing body, said: "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."

Patrick Clancy, chair of Football Supporters Association Australia, added: "The pictures and videos of Fed Square during World Cup 2022 went viral around the world. We want to see this repeated."

Australia play Turkey, Paraguay and co-hosts the United States at this summer's World Cup, which takes place from 11 June until 19 July.