A man has lodged an official complaint about Victoria Police’s conduct after cops pepper-sprayed soccer fans in Melbourne’s Federation Square, including his 13-year-old son.
About 15,000 people headed to Federation Square early on Sunday morning to watch the Socceroos play against Argentina in the FIFA World Cup.
A small group of fans reportedly tried to ram through the barricades to get into the venue after it reached capacity at 5am, an hour before the game was due to kick off.
Police said in a statement that they were “forced” to use OC spray on the people who tried to push their way in after two officers were left with minor injuries. However, the pepper-spray also hit 13-year-old Mentone boy Sonny Brickle and two of his young friends who were nearby.
The children were left unable to see because the spray got in their face and eyes, so they had to feel their way to safety by grabbing each other and stumbling around. Fkn heart-breaking to envision.