Karl Stefanovic makes off-colour joke about young Queensland fans stealing cars on Today

Hardcore Maroons fan Karl Stefanovic might have got a few Queensland parents offside when he made a risky joke about some very young footy fans on Wednesday morning’s edition of the Today show.

Channel Nine sport reporter Alex Cullen was doing a live cross from outside Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium – the venue for the deciding State of Origin clash – when several kids dressed in Queensland jerseys gathered around him in what looked like a pre-arranged stunt.

When Cullen put a NSW Blues cap on his head, one of the youngsters snatched it and ran off with all the other little Maroons fans.

‘Just be careful, buddy – if they’re not in the game, they’re stealing cars, young Queensland kids,’ Stefanovic joked.

The gag came about when sport reporter Alex Cullen’s NSW Blues cap was snatched off his head by a young Maroons fan, who then ran away with it, accompanied by his mates 

The light-hearted quip comes at an inopportune time, with Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll recently saying 400 ‘relentlessly offending’ young criminals are behind a teen crime wave in the state.

Carroll described the crimes carried out by the hardcore group as a ‘phenomenon’ that’s spreading nationwide.

Stefanovic is well known for his undying support of the Maroons – despite the fact he was born in Sydney before moving to the Sunshine State as a child.

He infamously threw his notes in the air and walked off the Today set in 2013 when he was exposed as a ‘fake Queenslander’ due to his place of birth.

The host was brutally sledged by NSW fans when he held up a Maroons scarf while cheering his team on at the year’s first Origin game in Sydney on June 8, but it didn’t bother him in the slightest.

Stefanovic later posted a video of the moment to Instagram with the caption, ‘Best crowd sledging ever.’

Karl is a diehard Cane Toads fanatic who once said State of Origin ‘has meant so much to me since I was walking’ (pictured, Queensland supporters at Game One in June this year)

The Nine personality said he had to ‘do a double take’ when he got his dream job of joining the broadcaster’s Origin team for all three games in the 2020 interstate series.

‘State of Origin has meant so much to me since I was walking and to be part of this special COVID State of Origin is more remarkable for me,’ he said.

‘I remember going to watch the King at the Cauldron at the old Lang Park and it was transformative.

‘For me, Wally Lewis proved it didn’t matter where you were from in Queensland, you could take on anyone in the world and beat them.

‘Wally was that for us and he put us on the map and I think for every Queensland kid it gave them the sense that they can go out in the world and do anything.