Beer Cups Fly in Perth Stadium Chaos
Chaotic scenes unfolded at the first Ashes Test in Perth, sparking a fierce online debate between English and Australian cricket fans. Spectators were captured on video throwing beer cups and cardboard trays in wild incidents that risked them being ejected from the venue.
Videos posted to social media platforms X and Instagram showed large numbers of supporters engaging in the behaviour, prompting stadium officials to issue a stark warning on the ground's big screen: 'Fans are reminded that throwing items is prohibited. If you throw, you go.'
The Great Beer Snake Controversy
The trouble appeared to be linked to the creation of 'beer snakes' - long stacks of empty cups that security at Australian cricket grounds are notorious for confiscating. On Saturday, former sports reporter Josh Garlepp shared video showing fans in two separate stands throwing cups and trays, captioning it: 'The barmy army are trashing the place tearing each other limb from limb.'
This post ignited a heated online argument about which set of fans were responsible. One commenter insisted: 'I was in the top tiers and can tell you it was the Aussies lobbing the cardboard trays because their beer snakes were confiscated.' Another cricket fan added: 'I was there not sitting with the barmy army. Loads of stuff came cascading down from the locals above us.'
However, other spectators claimed blame was widespread. An English supporter commented: 'It was the whole stadium. I was there,' while another wrote: 'It was everyone, not just the BA [Barmy Army].'
Social Media Fuels Fan Rivalry
The online debate quickly turned partisan, with Australians weighing in with comments like 'English fans are the worst lot. Sore farking losers,' and 'That's English culture.' Former AFL star Daniel Gorringe added fuel to the fire by posting an Instagram video showing spectators throwing cardboard trays from the first tier onto fans below, captioned: 'Aussies giving it back to the Barmy Army (stop singing songs about Steve Smith crying)'.
The footage showed the area around ground-level seats littered with trays, piling up in the aisles. English flags were visible in this section, indicating a strong Three Lions presence, along with their own beer snake construction.
Content creators Those Carter Boys - brothers of Australian Olympic gold medallist Kaylee McKeown - posted vision to Instagram of a massive beer snake stretching over 20 rows, nearly covering an entire stand length.
Western Australian Police confirmed the only arrest during the Test was for a traffic offence outside the ground.
The spectator drama coincided with England's dramatic batting collapse on the field. After going to lunch with a lead of 99 runs and just one wicket lost, Ben Stokes's men suffered a stunning collapse from 1-65 to 6-88, eventually being dismissed for 164.
This left Australia chasing the highest innings total of the match - 205 runs - on what had proved a treacherous pitch for batters. However, Travis Head produced an innings for Ashes folklore, smashing 123 runs from just 83 balls, including four sixes and 16 boundaries, to secure victory amid the off-field chaos.
