Influencer Drew Pavlou has divided Aussies after claiming that the fan culture surrounding the Socceroos at the World Cup is so woke it’s ’embarrassing’.
The political activist’s take on X has been viewed more than 41,000 times as the Aussie team prepare for their do-or-die clash with Egypt.
‘The soy infused anti American Socceroos fan chants are extremely embarrassing,’ Pavlou wrote on X.
‘I am literally in the US following the Socceroos at the World Cup but I don’t understand why the fan culture is so excruciatingly woke.’
Pavlou was referring to anti-Trump chants Aussie fans have been recorded singing in the USA.
One saw supporters singing, ‘Aussie boys are on a bender/Donald Trump’s a sex offender.’
Activist Drew Pavlou (pictured at the World Cup) has divided football fans by branding the Socceroos’ fan culture ‘excruciatingly woke’
Pavlou spoke out after videos showed Aussie World Cup fans singing anti-Trump chants (pictured)
They followed that up with, ‘We’re getting deported!’ to the tune of Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes as they took a shot at the Trump administration’s hardline stance on immigration.
The Socceroos have also been at the centre of a culture war involving One Nation supporters, who have been told by figures from the Labor and Greens parties that they should not be supporting the team due to the stars’ multicultural heritage.
When one commenter asked Pavlou why he believes the team’s fan culture is so woke, he said the Aussie dislike of Trump stems from tall poppy syndrome.
‘There are literally a bunch of guys I’ve seen in the US travelling around with an anti One Nation banner which is so forced and ridiculous considering it’s the World Cup,’ he added.
‘So embarrassing. Slowly the tide is turning,’ another commenter wrote.
‘It’s over the top and not really needed at a sporting event,’ said another.
But most of the reactions to the post slammed Pavlou’s take and said the anti-Trump feeling from fans is based on the US president’s actions.
‘People hate Trump in Australia because he started a completely unnecessary war and tariffed us which directly affects our bank accounts,’ one wrote.
Pictured: Pavlou’s tweet branding the chants ‘soy infused’
The woke criticism comes after One Nation supporters were told not to follow the Socceroos due to the team’s multicultural heritage (pictured, Aussie fans at the World Cup)
‘Tall poppy? You need to work on your botany. More like a toxic, noxious weed,’ added another.
‘Footballing migrant communities were not left wing,’ wrote a third, with another commenter adding, ‘Your theory is bulls**t.’
Pavlou’s post came as Socceroos fans were told to stop singing Men At Work’s classic song Down Under at the World Cup because the nation has diversified and ‘outgrown it’.
‘While the timeless classic undeniably brings a sense of nostalgia for a certain demographic of fans, a growing sentiment across modern Australia suggests the national sporting identity has completely outgrown the 1980s pub-rock era,’ read the post from Pedestrian Sport.
‘With a highly diverse, ultra confident generation of athletes like 20 year old sensation Nestory Irankunda currently taking over the global stage, the sonic landscape representing the country overseas arguably needs to reflect that exact same explosive, contemporary energy.’
There were plenty of fans in the comments urging Pedestrian Sport to ‘delete this’ in response to the post.
One user called it the ‘Worst take of the entire World Cup,’ while another added, ‘Who even thought of uploading this? Pedestrian just give up. You haven’t been popular since 2016.’
