‘Stay away from our sporting events’: Premier Daniel Andrews ridiculed on social media after Matildas victory

Premier Daniel Andrews has been ridiculed online following an announcement he made ahead of the Matildas’ semi-final, with many questioning his recent record when it comes to sporting events.

The Matildas will face-off against England in Sydney on Wednesday after defeating France in a nail-biting penalty shootout on Saturday night.

After Saturday’s victory, the Premier wrote “Au revoir Les Bleues” on Twitter, before urging Melburnians to turn up at AAMI Park to watch the next match on the big screen.

“Big game needs a bigger stadium. AAMI Park. Wednesday night. Be there,” he said on Twitter.

The match is being held at Sydney’s Stadium Australia which can hold up to 83,500 spectators.

That number eclipses AAMI Park, or Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, which can host about 30,000.

Users were quick to criticise the Premier, who is normally popular across social media platforms.

“Stay away from our sporting events,” one wrote, referencing the state’s Commonwealth Games debacle.

“That’s funny, do the commonwealth games next,” another said.

One quipped that Mr Andrews will “cancel it” before Wednesday, while another said “au revoir” to the Premier.

“Hahahahaha I wouldn’t ever trust holding an event in ‘your’ state,” another exclaimed.

Almost 50,000 spectators packed into Brisbane Stadium for Saturday’s clash, which saw Australia prevail 7-6 on penalties over France.

Last month Mr Andrews announced that Victoria would no longer host the Commonwealth Games in 2026, citing a cost blowout of six to seven billion dollars as the reason for the scrapping.

Taxpayers could be on the hook for redundancy payments of up to $4.5 million as a result of the decision to cancel the 12-day event, which was set to be held across regional Victoria.

Sources close to negotiations between the government agency set up to run the games and its departing staff have told Sky News Australia there is “disagreement” between an offer on the table for entitlement payouts worth thousands of dollars.

The financial blowout and decision will face three probes, including twin Parliamentary inquiries in the Federal Senate and Victorian Upper House, after the state Auditor-General confirmed it had launched an audit of the withdrawal.

The Legislative Council senate committee is due to provide an interim report next year, before a final report in April 2025, one year before the next state election.

The committees are expected to probe the cost of staff redundancy payouts.

SOURCE: SKYNEWS