By Eliza Sum, Broede Carmody and Alex Crowe
A rowdy crowd broke through metal barricades and lit dozens of flares at Federation Square during the Matildas’ do-or-die World Cup semi-final against England, with police expressing their disappointment at supporters’ behaviour.
Thousands of spectators queued to reserve their spots hours in advance on Wednesday, as an estimated 12,000 fans flocked to the popular World Cup viewing site.
Federation Square reached capacity an hour before the match’s 8pm kick-off in Sydney. Authorities urged crowds to instead watch the game at AAMI Park.
But 30 minutes later, crowds began storming the barriers past security to join supporters inside the square. In footage, youths can be seen pushing on the metal barricades, toppling them over and rushing in as guards and police backed down.
Mounted officers were eventually brought in to control the unruly crowd, along with the public order response team and highway patrol.
Despite warnings of a $7400 fine, clouds of red smoke regularly filled Federation Square as fans discharged more than 50 flares. Footage on social media showed flares being set off an hour before kick-off and after Sam Kerr kicked a stunning goal in the second half.
Victoria Police expressed disappointment in the crowd’s behaviour, singling out a large group of “mainly male youths” and saying it was a “challenging night”.
“Officers were constantly trying to ensure the safety of the crowd, managing and monitoring public order at the Federation Square site; however, at times, multiple temporary fences, which were in place to assist with managing the crowd, were breached,” police said in a statement.
“More than 50 flares were discharged and multiple thrown into the crowd, luckily at this stage, we’re not aware of anyone being injured.”
Four males, ranging in age from 16 to 23, were issued with penalty notices for possessing flares, while a 16-year-old boy was cautioned after throwing a flare.
Police officers have obtained CCTV footage of the flare incidents, which detectives will investigate.
Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday congratulated the Matildas for their World Cup campaign, but condemned the unlawful behaviour at Federation Square, saying: “I don’t reckon any member of the Matildas squad would want people behaving that way. I certainly don’t.
“It wasn’t the night people wanted, but there’s no excuse ... flares are illegal [and] banned for a reason – they’re really, really dangerous.
“This is called ‘the beautiful game’. And I want people to behave appropriately, not badly.”
Despite the fracas, Andrews rejected calls to do away with large spectator events at the space altogether.
“I would not want to see a situation where a square that is owned by a space that is owned by all Victorians can’t be used,” he said.
“I don’t think that we should settle for a small group of people … behaving badly. We shouldn’t have them essentially running the rest of us out of Fed Square.”
The premier added that police were asked to review Wednesday night’s event.
“We should wait to see what that [report says]. The last thing we want to do is have people in harm’s way.”
Victoria Police acting Chief Commissioner Wendy Steendam spoke on ABC radio and confirmed a review was underway, adding that the design of Federation Square made it particularly challenging for police to control crowds.
“There’s many different access and entry points at Fed Square, and that’s part of the challenge,” she said.
Steenham also reminded spectators of the dangers of setting off flares, saying they posed a fire hazard.
“There’s high risk when people do that in terms of personal safety, the potential for fires ... there was action taken and people moved on as a result of that – four penalty notices that were issued in relation to possession of flares,” she said.
Dejected fans began filtering out of the venue after England’s third goal touched the net, before Australia’s World Cup hopes were officially declared over, beaten 3-1 in the semi-final by the Lionesses of England.
Despite the rowdy behaviour at Federation Square, police praised the behaviour of the crowds at AAMI Park, where at least 23,838 fans congregated.
One male was issued a penalty notice after being caught in possession of a flare at the stadium.
Fans at AAMI Park were praised for their good behaviour.Credit: Getty
Meanwhile in Sydney, two men were arrested after a railway signal box was vandalised on Wednesday night.
Cables in the signal box had been cut and equipment was damaged, causing tens of thousands of Matildas fans to be delayed for hours while trying to get home from the match.
Despite the end of their World Cup dream, the Matildas will head to Brisbane to face off against Sweden for third place on Saturday.
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