Football fans criticize Dan Andrews after his tweet about Matildas’ World Cup semi-final against England – and it’s not the first time football fans have been sidelined
Victorian Prime Minister Dan Andrews’ confusing shot at Sydney, disguised as a statement of support for the Matildas, backfired spectacularly.
Andrews was previously flogged for tweeting an image of the crowd celebrating in Federation Square following Matildas’ 2-0 win over Denmark.
He posted the image with the caption, “If you ever hear someone say no one wants to watch women’s sports, show them this.”
That resulted in football fans – including Today show host Sophie Walsh – criticizing the Prime Minister for using outdated views on the women’s game.
Now he’s in trouble again, this time as he used Matildas’ victory over France via penalties as a way to launch potshots at Melbourne’s rival city.
Victorian Prime Minister Dan Andrews hasn’t had a stellar run on social media during the Women’s World Cup
Having previously posted images from Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena fan site, the Prime Minister posted ‘Au revoir Les Bleues’ after Matildas’ historic win.
However, it was his next post that made sports fans frown.
Big games need a bigger stadium. AAMI Park. Wednesday night. Be there,” he posted in an apparent attempt to garner support for another live site in Melbourne.
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However, his post was widely panned as Accor Stadium in Sydney will host 86,000 for Wednesday night’s semi-final against England, while AAMI Park – or Melbourne Rectangular Stadium as FIFA has re-named it – has just 30,000.
“Should have done more to make sure these big international games were held in Melbourne,” one fan said angrily.
“Should have built AAMI bigger when it was approved. It made no sense at the time,” added another.
“Didn’t they play tonight at Suncorp… that’s more than AAMI park lol,” another fan commented.
The Prime Minister was previously criticized for expressing outdated views on women’s sport in this Twitter post about support for the Matildas
The Prime Minister was also eviscerated for sprucing up AAMI Park as a live site after infamously scrapping the 2024 Commonwealth Games scheduled to be played in Victoria.
“What about the Commonwealth Games that also need a bigger stadium,” a sports fan fired back at Mr Andrews.
“Prefer the Commonwealth Games,” wrote another.
“I wouldn’t risk any sporting event in Victoria because Dan could cancel it,” added another.