Piers Morgan blasts plan to create Matildas World Cup statue as a ‘joke’ and ‘participation trophy’ – and two Australian sports superstars agree
- Morgan rejected plans for a Matildas statue
- Said monument undeserved after fourth place
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Controversial British television personality Piers Morgan was delighted when Australia was excluded from the Women’s World Cup – and now he has launched plans for a Matildas statue.
Australia has been ravaged by Matildas fever for the past month, with the side making history after becoming the first Australian national football team to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.
On Sunday, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that the Matildas will be getting a statue at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium to mark their achievements at the tournament.
“We are going to increase existing funding for women’s football, including upgrades to major venues where football is played across Queensland,” she said.
“But wait, there’s one more thing. As a lasting tribute to Matildas 2023, we are going to build a statue at Suncorp Stadium.
Piers Morgan has said plans for a Matildas statue in Brisbane amount to giving the team a ‘participation trophy’ if they finish fourth
Morgan asked if the idea was a joke, and many football fans shared his opinion
“There are plenty of statues out there, honoring our male sports champions, it’s time we celebrated women too… you deserve your place among the greatest.”
Morgan, who shot at the Aussies during the World Cup, retweeted the statue announcement on Tuesday, sharing his own thoughts on the matter.
“A statue for fourth place? Is this a joke?’ He wrote.
Former Aussie NBA star Andrew Bogut also spoke on Twitter about the plans for a statue.
‘Matildas did well… Statue? No. A gold/first place is a statue and an overly celebratory achievement,” he wrote.
“Anything below is fine, celebrate a few and then move on. This applies to all sports, by the way. A for effort, N for No statue.’
Tennis star Nick Kyrgios responded to Bogut’s post, writing, “Okay. Big effort! The fourth place statue is crazy, but they all had us on the edge of our seats! The next time.’
Andrew Bogut and Nick Kyrgios also agreed that a fourth-place statue was over the top (pictured Matildas celebrating victory over France after a penalty shootout)
Sky News Australia host Laura Jays responded to Morgan, explaining what a ‘big deal’ the Matildas were in Australia.
Morgan, however, was not convinced and replied, “I’ve never let you down as a fan of entry prizes…”
Many commentators supported Morgan’s stance on this, arguing that it belittles the players after they fail to finish in the top three.
“The irony is in how patronizing this move actually is,” one user replied.
“When you wake up, you do. Reward mediocrity,” said another.
‘How about a statue in honor of our diamond netball world champion who actually won their word cup for the twelfth time. Since when do you get a statue when you finish fourth?