Key Points
- Socceroos winger Awer Mabil has responded to Pauline Hanson's comments about multiculturalism.
- He said the Socceroos were the representation of what makes Australia the "best country in the world".
Socceroos star Awer Mabil has dismissed suggestions Australia is not a multicultural nation as "bullsh-t', while insisting the World Cup team was not distracted by Pauline Hanson's monoculture remarks.
Speaking after returning home to Adelaide after Australia was dumped out of the tournament by Egypt on Saturday, Mabil was asked by a reporter if the One Nation leader's remarks about Australia needing to be a monocultural society had been a distraction to the team.
The diversity of Australia's 26-man squad — comprising at least 15 cultural and ethnic backgrounds — became a focal point of the team's World Cup campaign, with players releasing a video celebrating their migrant roots on the eve of the tournament.
Mabil's parents fled civil war in South Sudan in 1994 and he was born in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya the following year.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
He moved to Australia with his family when he was 10 years old on an Australian humanitarian visa.
On Monday, Mabil cited his previous comments that Australia's multiculturalism was what made it the "best country in the world".
"It (the Hanson remarks) didn't really distract us because we know what we represent," Mabil replied.
"Australia, as I said the other day, is the best country in the world, and the Socceroos are the best representation of that. If anybody is trying to divide that, then they're probably not Australian themselves, respectfully, because Australia is very inclusive."
Asked for his response to suggestions Australia was not a multicultural society, Mabil said: "It's just all bullsh-t."
"When somebody tries to divide people based on certain things — because you don't pick where you're born, you don't pick the colour of your skin. You're picked to be a good human being," he added.
"Some people choose to go against being good — that's their own problem, they're missing out on what others can bring.
"There's many journeys, with one jersey. That's our slogan in the camp."
Responding to Mabil's remarks, a One Nation spokesperson told SBS News on Monday:
"Monoculture is unifying and welcoming, not divisive and exclusionary. One Nation did not politicise the Socceroos. We have only responded to the politicisation that others started."
Hanson recently said the Australian men's football team was an example of monoculturalism, after critics pointed out that the Socceroos were representative of a multicultural nation.
During an address to the Senate, Hanson said the Socceroos "represent my vision" of a monocultural Australia.
"People from different backgrounds and cultures and nations, all wearing the green and gold, and representing one nation under one flag," Hanson said.
Multicultural Affairs Minister Anne Aly rebuked Hanson’s analogy, saying that without multiculturalism "there would be no soccer, there would be no Socceroos".
You can watch all 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ live, free and exclusive on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.
For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.
