He travelled more than 12,000kms, racked up a near five-figure bill and saw his beloved Socceroos make history in Qatar, but just six words encapsulate Julian Farrell’s wonderful World Cup journey.
‘Jesus, we’re on the f****** telly.’
It was that moment, as Australia attempted to battle back from a 2-1 deficit against France when the camera panned to the 49-year-old security guard from Melbourne, with the resulting footage plastered all over social media after the game in Al-Wakrah.
The Socceroos fan who went viral at the World Cup has opened up on his experience in Qatar
Fans were in stitches over Julian’s shocked, glazed-over expression as he looked up at the big screen. On TikTok, the six-second clip has been ‘liked’ more than 400,000 times, and the enormity of that moment only hit him the following day.
‘I was getting message after message,’ Julian tells Daily Mail Australia of the reaction to his viral clip.
‘I got messages from people from all around the world, everywhere. Probably every second person I know in Australia told me: “You’ve just gone viral in Australia”. Even Gary Lineker liked it as well.’
The nature of his reaction inevitably resulted in widespread speculation: Had he lied to his partner about being in Qatar? Or his boss?
Julian Farrell made headlines all over the world with his ‘s*** we’re on the f****** telly’ outburst
The 49-year-old security guard from Melbourne has explained the reason behind his reaction
‘No, everybody knew I was going to Qatar,’ he clarifies. ‘My partner knew I was going to Qatar, so hearing all of these people saying “ah, his wife doesn’t know” or “his boss doesn’t know”, yeah, everyone knows. Unfortunately that doesn’t make it half as funny.
‘I’m a bit bemused why it’s gone so viral, because that’s the sort of thing I normally say. I just went “jeez we’re on the f****** telly’. The reality unfortunately is not as exciting as what people thought it might have been. I was concerned because we were losing.’
In fact, he had a far more pressing concern on his mind, with the implications of that viral moment going beyond the constraints of football.
‘It’s OK to say this because I’m now in Australia… my partner is male,’ he says. ‘It made things in Qatar very interesting. When all of this came out, I thought “Oh God, this is the last thing I need.”‘
The Australia diehard was ‘bemused’ by the reaction and said it was just his typical language
In the video, Julian comes across as what he describes as ‘a playful image of a quintessential Australian’, but he insists he is anything but that stereotype.
When the 49-year-old is not working on major events like the Australian Open and the Melbourne Cup, he takes up his role as president of a Bayern Munich fan club in Melbourne, flies up to New South Wales to watch Sydney FC and can speak German and French fluently.
It was during his studies of German that he fell in love with football, and he attended his first Socceroos game in 1988, when Australia took on Israel in a World Cup qualifier.
He has travelled far and wide to follow the Socceroos, but he says he was apprehensive about travelling to Qatar to watch Graham Arnold’s side this year.
‘Because of my lifestyle, I was a bit scared of staying in Qatar,’ he admits. ‘I was originally going to fly in from Dubai, watch the games, then fly back. Do that three times. So I had the flights booked, and then I decided to base myself in Doha, in one of the fan camps, and it ended up becoming quite an expensive trip.’
Farrell is the president of a Bayern Munich supporters’ group back home in Australia
After the Socceroos’ journey came to an end, the 49-year-old visited Madrid in Spain
But Julian now views those early fears as ‘total rubbish’ compared to what he experienced in Qatar. He says he encountered ‘no problems’ while in the Middle East and ‘would go back in a heartbeat’.
It was one interaction with a Qatari police officer that resonated with the Melbourne security guard most, where he bravely revealed that he is gay.
‘The weird thing is, after we played Tunisia, I got into a DNM (deep and meaningful conversation) with a Qatari cop,’ Julian explains. ‘I was going back to get flag poles that were confiscated, and he goes: “What are your thoughts of Qatar?”
‘I said: “It’s warming to me, give me time to get used to it and get comfortable to know more of the place, then I can give you an opinion.”
‘Then he goes: “Can I ask you a couple of questions?” and I go: “Yeah OK sure” and he says: “What are your thoughts on the LGBT community?”
‘I thought: “Oh, f***, here we go”, because this is the last thing I wanted, I didn’t want to make waves. I knew another gay Australian fan who brought a pride flag and nearly got deported.
Farrell is openly gay and said he told a Qatari cop of his sexuality during a frank discussion
‘I said: “Can I tell you something? I’m openly gay myself.” The cop goes: “Oh, OK” and then he goes: ‘You realise it is against our religion to be in a gay or lesbian relationship?”
‘And I said: “Yes, I understand that. I was very scared coming here and I do understand that. But what do people do if you find they have same sex relationships, or same sex feelings, when you live in Qatar. Do you (A) have to live a lie your whole life? Do you (B) have to leave the country? Or (C) do you commit suicide?”
‘The fact that I told the cop that, and he went: “Oh…” I think that is the first time somebody actually explained it to him. He then went: “I will protect you.”
‘You’ve got to keep things very private, which I have no problem with to be honest, and if you keep things private nothing will happen to you. Especially as a tourist.’
The only blemish for Julian in Qatar was the fan camp, which he initially likened to a ‘refugee detention centre’ – although he made great friends once he got used to his surroundings.
But in terms of the football, he couldn’t have asked for a better showing from the Socceroos.
Australia’s 2-1 defeat by Argentina ‘still rankles’ with him, even 10 days after their elimination, but as far as Julian is concerned, Graham Arnold is the man to grow the Socceroos – as long as he wants to keep the job.
The security guard was one of the few Socceroos fans who watched them make history
Farrell hopes to see Graham Arnold stay on as coach, but only if the 59-year-old wants to
‘He needs to do what’s best for him,’ he says. ‘This World Cup wasn’t a fluke. He knew exactly what he was doing.
‘I don’t want to start again with a new coach but he’s got to do what he’s got to do. As a Sydney FC fan I’m a little scared that Kevin Muscat will get the job, he is probably the closest thing to an anti-Christ.
‘I don’t know about John Aloisi, he did well with Western United, he was fantastic as a pundit, he knows what he’s talking about, does he have the mettle to be Socceroos coach?’
Regardless of who is tasked with leading Australia to Asian Cup glory, Julian is adamant that he is on his way to the next World Cup – hosted by Canada, the US and Mexico.
‘I’ve told the other half “get your passport, we’re going”, as long as we qualify.
‘Hopefully with this positive World Cup we won’t have to go through the playoffs again. One hundred per cent I will be going to 2026. I want to go to Mexico, it will be funner, cheaper and more wild.’
Here’s hoping we see him on the telly again.