World Cup 2018: Robbie Slater calls for Malcolm Turnbull to step in as Optus Sport lets fans down again

Andrew Lucas

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World Cup 2018: Robbie Slater calls for Malcolm Turnbull to step in as Optus Sport lets fans down again image

Former Socceroos' star and football commentator Robbie Slater has sensationally called for Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to step in as Optus Sport's technical issues angers fans once again.

Throughout this year's World Cup on a number of occasions Optus Sport has left football fans fuming thanks to a 'playback error'.

It's left fans staring at a black screen from the streaming service, unable to watch games which they have forked out dollars for.

The latest incident was the Costa Rica-Serbia match-up which caused a socal media storm where a number of experts vented their frustations against the Telco.

MORE: LUCAS NEILL: From Socceroos hero to hiding in supermarkets | World Cup Fixtures & Results


On Twitter, Slater called for the most powerful man in the country to step in to help fans watch the remainder of the tournament.

"Ok enough his enough! It’s time the government gets involved and get the games back to @SBSSport! Does anyone care? Unacceptable," Slater said.

"Time for @TurnbullMalcolm and everyone else involved to fix this unacceptable non coverage of the @FIFAWorldCup! Shameful."



There were also a host of fans who blew up at the network's coverage, or lack of.




Optus Sport shared a post on social media directing fans to use another application to watch the Costa Rica-Serbia game due to the streaming interruption.

"For those users currently experiencing technical difficulties on Optus Sport, please enter your details into the 2018 FIFA World Cup app to watch the Costa Rica-Serbia game while our tech teams work to fix the problem," the network said.


Optus Sport Chief Executive Allen Lew also made a statement suggesting the issues would be fixed by Sunday night (AEST).

“I apologise unreservedly to all Australians,” Lew told Fairfax Media.

“We should have done better, we can do better and we will do better.

“Australians can be assured that this has my personal attention, and the entire network team’s attention, and we will solve it. We will solve this problem by the end of this evening.”

However, that was not the case.

The subscription service for non-eligible customers from Optus and the other telcos is costing fans $15 per month - which supposedly, is meant to entitle fans to coverage of all World Cup games.

With the network the only legal service for Aussie fans to watch the tournament - due to SBS only covering Socceroos' matches, it's no wonder an outrage has been caused.

There have been calls for SBS to be allowed to show the games on free-to-air television.


Andrew Lucas

Andrew Lucas Photo