Fans slammed for booing Welcome to Country, flashing Nazi salutes during Australia Cup final

Football Australia say eight fans were thrown out of Saturday’s Australia Cup final which was overshadowed by a section of Sydney United 58 fans chanting songs with fascist links.

NPL NSW side United, which became the first non A-League Men side to reach the final, lost 2-0 to A-League Men club Macarthur FC in front of a 16,000-strong crowd – the second biggest in the competition’s history.

A section of fans from United, formerly known as Sydney Croatia, sang “Za Dom Spremni” (for homeland – ready) – a chant used by the far right Ustase movement in the 1930s and 1940s.

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One banner unveiled at CommBank Stadium bore a striking resemblance to the flag of Nazi Germany.

Largely red, it contained a white circle in the middle, with “EP” – an acronym for the club’s Edensor Park home – written in the circle in black typeface.

Sections of the crowd also disrespected the Welcome to Country with boos heard as Erin Wilkins took to the stand.

Images and videos circulated on social media also appeared to show fans saluting.

“These vile symbols and salutes have no place in modern Australian society,” NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Darren Bark said.

“They represent the ultimate manifestation of evil – an evil which led to the murder of millions of innocent civilians during WWII, including six million Jews and thousands of Australian Diggers who lost their lives fighting against the Nazis during WWII.

“Reprehensible conduct such as this causes immense distress to the victims of Nazi crimes and their descendants, whilst undermining our cohesive multicultural society.”

Bark called on Football Australia to take “strong action” against the perpetrators.

Football Australia chief executive James Johnson telephoned Wilkins during the final to apologise on behalf of his organisation, which insisted the behaviour was restricted to a small section of supporters.

“Football Australia acknowledges that a very small minority of attendees engaged in behaviour that is not consistent with Football Australia’s values and wider community expectations,” FA said in a statement.

“Football Australia took steps during the match to address these isolated behaviours, including eight evictions.

“Football Australia will continue to gather information from the venue, clubs, and authorities on this matter, as anti-social behaviour has no place in our game.”

A 32nd-minute penalty from Al Hassan Toure and a second spot-kick from Ulises Davila in the dying stages of the second half secured victory for Dwight Yorke’s team on Saturday.

Davila was awarded the Mark Viduka Medal for a man-of-the-match performance which brought Macarthur’s first trophy since they entered the A-League Men in 2020.

“It’s been a good transition into management,” Yorke said.

“I came to Macarthur with an open mind, knowing the club was relatively new.

“I felt it (the club’s ambition) was in line with my ambition as a coach and here we are and we’ve won the cup.

“We felt that this was a competition we wanted to go all the way in and the further we went the better and stronger we got.”

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