A section of the crowd booed a Welcome to Country ceremony before South Melbourne defeated Melbourne Victory in the Australia Cup final at AAMI Park on Saturday, October 10, according to the Australian Associated Press (AAP) and other media reports.
Wurundjeri elder Uncle Colin Hunter Jr performed the ceremony before a record crowd of 29,911 spectators as Greek City Times reported. Reports described booing near the start of the ceremony, with some accounts saying the noise grew louder as it continued. The reports did not establish the identities or club affiliations of those responsible.
South Melbourne, known as Hellas, subsequently made Australian football history by becoming the first non-A-League club to win the Australia Cup. The club defeated Melbourne Victory 4–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw that extended into extra time.
Origins of the Welcome to Country ceremony
The incident has renewed debate about the Welcome to Country, including the distinction between its historical cultural roots and its modern use at sporting events, government functions and public gatherings.
Traditional protocols for welcoming visitors onto another group’s Country predate European colonisation. However, the formal Welcome to Country ceremony familiar to Australians today developed in its modern public form during the 1970s.
The modern ceremony is commonly associated with Aboriginal performers Richard Walley and Ernie Dingo, who developed a Welcome to Country for Polynesian performers at the Perth International Arts Festival in 1978. Earlier accounts also identify a welcome at the 1973 Aquarius Festival in Nimbin, New South Wales, as an important precursor to the contemporary practice.
The historical distinction matters: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities maintained cultural protocols for welcoming visitors, but the standardised public ceremony now delivered before major events represents a contemporary adaptation of those traditions. Reconciliation Australia traces the contemporary revival of Welcome to Country to the land-rights era of the 1970s and 1980s.
According to Reconciliation Australia, Traditional Owners deliver a Welcome to Country, or authorise another Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person to perform it, to welcome visitors to their Country. The ceremony can include a speech, singing, dancing or a smoking ceremony.
News.com.au reported that spectators booed as Hunter performed the ceremony and that the noise intensified towards its conclusion. Its report criticised the reaction but did not identify the section of the stadium responsible.
Reports Differ on Where the Booing Came From
The ABC’s coverage, which also appeared in AAP reporting, offered a more specific description. It noted that a large contingent of South Melbourne supporters occupied the southern end of AAMI Park and reported that a section of the crowd in that area booed the ceremony.
Writing for The Guardian, football journalist Joey Lynch described the booing as the night’s “only blemish”. He reported that the initial reaction prompted attempts by terrace leaders to quieten the crowd, but he did not identify those individuals or establish their club affiliations.
These accounts do not justify attributing the booing to all South Melbourne supporters or Melbourne Victory fans.
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Social Media Divides Over the Reaction
The incident prompted sharply contrasting responses on social media.
News.com.au quoted Kevin Perkins, who wrote on X: “So very sad to hear so many Victorians booing the Welcome to Country.”
Another commenter, Nick Stoll, described the reaction as “a disgrace”.
Commentator Kobie Thatcher, however, praised the crowd’s response, posting on X: “Well done, Melbourne! Some spectacular booing of the Welcome to Country at the Australia Cup Final today.”
The competing reactions reflected wider disagreement over the place of Welcome to Country ceremonies in Australian public life and whether spectators should express opposition during such events.
Football Australia and Clubs Yet to Respond
At the time of the reports, neither South Melbourne nor Melbourne Victory had issued a public statement about the incident on their websites or X accounts. Football Australia’s match report also made no reference to the booing, and no public response from Indigenous leaders had emerged in the reporting cited here.
Football Australia instead used X to celebrate the record attendance, thanking the Victorian Government, venue managers and Football Victoria. Its post described the final as “a record-breaking crowd at AAMI Park and a special occasion for Australian football”.
The governing body previously addressed controversy surrounding a Welcome to Country at the 2022 Australia Cup final in Sydney. Following that match, Football Australia said noise during Erin Wilkins’ ceremony had “reached unacceptable levels”. The organisation later fined Sydney United 58 $15,000 over fan behaviour at the final. The Guardian reported that the behaviour also included fascist songs and salutes.
A separate controversy emerged in September 2026 when footage of Brazil’s national football team during a Welcome to Country ceremony in Australia prompted online criticism. The team shared the ceremony on Instagram, describing it as a “special” start to its Australian visit. Some social media users subsequently criticised the players’ reactions.
South Melbourne Make History in Dramatic Final
The controversy preceded a dramatic match that delivered South Melbourne its first Australia Cup title.
In front of 29,911 spectators, the largest crowd for a sporting event at AAMI Park, both sides remained level through 90 minutes before extra time produced two goals.
Melbourne Victory appeared poised to claim its third Australia Cup title when substitute Denis Genreau scored five minutes into extra time. South Melbourne refused to surrender and equalised through substitute Maximilian Mikkola with three minutes remaining.
The equaliser sent South Melbourne’s supporters into celebration and carried the club’s momentum into the penalty shootout.
South converted its first four penalties, while Victory missed twice. Harrison Sawyer, a former South Melbourne player, failed to beat goalkeeper Javier Lopez, who saved his attempt. Jason Davidson then sent his penalty over the crossbar.
Davidson’s father, former Socceroo Alan Davidson, is a celebrated figure from South Melbourne’s National Soccer League era.
The two misses meant South Melbourne did not need to take its fifth penalty. The victory secured a landmark result for the club, which competes in NPL Victoria, the Australian Championship and the OFC Pro League.
The result capped a memorable night for South Melbourne, even as the reaction to the pre-match ceremony continued to fuel debate about cultural protocols, public expression and Australian sporting events.