Melbourne City or North Korea? Fornaroli censored to avoid fan reaction

Melbourne City have channelled their inner-North Korea to censor out-of-favour Bruno Fornaroli when Fox Sports' showed the striker on their coverage.

The Uruguayan was sat in the stands at AAMI Park on Sunday after being left out of the squad for the second consecutive week as City emphatically dispatched Newcastle Jets 3-0.

Fornaroli appeared quite regularly on the TV broadcast but Fox Sports commentator Brenton Speed noticed their was no reaction from Melbourne City's supporters when the 31-year-old was shown - despite the fact the majority of fans were protesting in his favour.

It was quickly figured out that City screen operators were displaying a wide shot of the field of the playing field instead of the close-up vision of Fornaroli in the stands to avoid the cheers in support from fans.

As a contrast, Kevin Muscat was not censored and boos rang out as the Melbourne Victory appeared on the screen as he watched the game in the stands.

It must be pointed out that A-League clubs often censor controversial on-field decisions to not rile up fans, but it's unusual to see a player hidden from view.

Fornaroli spent the 90 minutes suited up in the AAMI Park stands watching the game with family, as he sipped on a South American beverage known as Mate.

The drink is derived from yerba leaves and is known to help with metabolism and weight loss - an interesting factor considering Fornaroli was reportedly dropped by Joyce for skinfold issues.