Fury over AFL-themed Brazil ad

The clip hit Ticketek Australia's Facebook page last week and sparked a storm of criticism from football fans for apparently promoting a rival code in an ad for a match featuring the world's best footballers.

The ad shows Brazilians playing football on a beach - then they're given a Sherrin-style AFL ball to play with instead.

It seems to be a tie in to the game being played at the MCG next month – but the reference to Aussie Rules left football fans gobsmacked. The ad also misspelled "fare".

Comments below the Facebook promo clip – which has been viewed almost 8,000 times and earned more anger emojis than likes – were full of complaints and demands for the ad to be deleted.

Football fans (and Socceroo Trent Sainsbury) reacted just as furiously on Twitter.

@KevinAirs442 @FFA @FFA wtf? Stamp this egg ball crap out! Embarrassing

— patrick brticvic (@patrickbrticvic) May 15, 2017

@KevinAirs442 @FFA A very loose MCG/AFL connection. That Brazilian team sells it self. No gimmicks needed

— Nik Stagno Navarra (@nik_nuk_) May 15, 2017

@KevinAirs442 @FFA pic.twitter.com/wVrCbRXHkJ

— Trent Sainsbury (@Tsainsbury92) May 15, 2017

@KevinAirs442 @FFA Out of touch on so many levels

— Chich (@mtwodesigns) May 15, 2017

@KevinAirs442 @FFA Wow that is crap

— horsdt (@horsdt) May 15, 2017

@KevinAirs442 @FFA I threw up a bit

— Nate Patrick (@up2Nate) May 15, 2017

@KevinAirs442 @IanSyson @FFA I thought it was promoting the next offshore AFL game being played in Rio to a sell out crowd...

— Troy Chandler (@leaveforthecup) May 15, 2017

@KevinAirs442 @FFA This is why I hope Neymar and Messi don't come. Imagine the cringe image of them holding that egg shit

— Ong Tiong Choon (@TCo10) May 15, 2017

@KevinAirs442 No respect at all @Ticketek_AU for national team. WTF is wrong with you? @FFA you wonder why you can't connect to the football community? 😐

— Mark Silva (@mark_putta) May 15, 2017

Today the FFA stressed they were not responsible for the advert and had not seen it or approved it before it went public.

Now, a spokesman said, the governing body has sent a Please Explain to the promoters demanding answers.

"It is not our ad, was not seen or approved by us and we have taken it up with the promoter," said a spokesman.

Although the promo is still online, the post appears to have been hidden from Ticketek's Facebook timeline.

A new clip has since gone up showing Brazilian kids mimicking Tim Cahill's corner flag shadowboxing goal celebration...without an oval ball in sight.

The match on June 13 will be the Socceroos' final runout before flying to Russia for the 2017 Confederations Cup where they will face Germany, Cameroon and Chile.

It will be played four days after Brazil take on Argentina at the MCG and five days after the Socceroos meet Saudi Arabia in Adelaide for their crucial World Cup qualifier.

It's understood the ad was produced by Melbourne-based co-promoter TLA who supplied it to Ticketek, who confirmed they have now pulled it from their Facebook page.

"It wasn't even produced as a provocative ad designed to be spark outrage and go viral," said one executive involved. "It was just a misguided attempt to do something different."