The Word on the Street

24 Jun 2006

100 England fans detained after rampage

Around 100 England fans were detained here overnight after rampaging through the town center ahead of their team's World Cup match against Ecuador, police said Saturday.

The fans, many of whom had been drinking heavily, began taunting passers-by overnight and throwing bottles, glasses and chairs, a police spokesman said. No one was reported injured.

German police officers, aided by British police familiar with the hooligan scene, attempted at first to calm the group and took individual trouble-makers into custody.

But when the situation threatened to escalate, they surrounded the group and herded them into police vans.

Deputy local police chief Michael Kuehner said the firm response was meant to show that "aggressive drinking, violence and harassment will be nipped in the bud with decisive action".

"We will continue to take action against violent fans regardless of their nationality," he added.

Osim favourite as Japan coach

Former Yugoslavia coach Ivica Osim has emerged as the likely successor to Brazilian legend Zico at the head of the Japanese national team.

"We have been focusing on one person," Japan Football Association president Saburo Kawabuchi said here amid rumours that he has picked Osim to steer Japan on the road to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

The Sarajevo-born Osim, 65, who has been managing J-League powerhouse JEF United Chiba for four years, marshalled the former Yugoslavia to the World Cup quarter-finals in 1990 after taking over the national team in 1986.

"We intend to make a final decision this month, or by early July at the latest," Kawabuchi said.

Record-breaking time for evergreen Cafu

Brazil's evergreen captain Cafu said Saturday he would be very proud to break the World Cup record for appearances and games won when the five-time champions play Ghana in a second round clash in Dortmund on Tuesday.

The 36-year-old fullback will make his 19th appearance for Brazil in a World Cup finals, a national record, and should they prevail over the Africans he'd break the record number of victories with 16.

"To play 19 matches at the World Cup finals is a fabulous thing," said Cafu, who would be appearing in his fourth successive final were Brazil to make it to the July 9 climax.

"And 16 wins. I will be proud of this record," added Cafu, who stands to become the first player to captain a side to two titles having led them to victory over Germany in 2002.

SKorea fan threatens to "blow up" Swiss embassy

A 44-year-old South Korean football fan was booked here Saturday after inquiring about the phone number of the Swiss embassy, saying he would blow it up, police said.

The man, identified only by his family name Kim, called the emergency hotline used to report crimes and asked for the number after Switzerland beat South Korea 2-0 and knocked them out of the World Cup.

"What's the number of the Swiss embassy? I will blow it up," he was quoted as saying when he called the hotline.

Police booked Kim without physical detention after tracing him with the help of the telephone directory service. He is expected to have to pay hundreds of dollars in fines.

Three million take to streets for Germany match

An estimated three million people were in the streets of Germany on Saturday to watch the host nation beat Sweden and advance to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, according to the police.

At least 750,000 people crammed into a 2.5-kilometre-long area behind Berlin's best-known landmark, the Brandenburg Gate, to watch the match on giant TV screens in hot and sunny conditions, police said.

So many people wanted to see the action that police had to shut the area for safety reasons, leaving another 250,000 people to follow the game elsewhere in the capital.

The crowd erupted in celebrations when Lukas Podolski scored twice early in the match in Munich to set Germany on the road to a 2-0 victory, turning the centre of Berlin into a sea of red, black and yellow flags.

Der Kaiser ties the knot

World Cup organiser Franz Beckenbauer, winner of the competition as player and coach, took time out to get married to Heidi Burmesteron Friday, mass daily Bild reported in its online edition Saturday.

The paper said the pair had tied the knot in the village of Oberndorf near Kitzbuhel in the Austrian Tyrol where Beckenbauer has a home, several weeks after saying they wanted a quiet day "without any stress."

"They said 'I do' at half past midday'," Bild reported, adding that the new Mrs Beckenbauer wore a white silk suit.

Franz Beckenbauer, world champion as a player in 1974 and coach in 1990, wore a dark suit.

Beckenbauer has hardly missed a game but said there was a special reason for choosing the date of his third marriage.

"Nobody thought we would tie the knot during the World Cup. But June 23 is my mother's birthday."

His mother Antonie died in January aged 92.

Beckenbauer and Heidi have a five-year-old son, Joel, and have been together for seven years.

FIFA gives backing to under-fire Poll

FIFA have given English referee Graham Poll lukewarm backing after conceding he made a blunder in showing Croatian player Josip Simunic three yellow cards in the World Cup match against Australia.

Poll told FIFA's referees committee that he had correctly booked Simunic in the 61st minute of the tense first-round game on Thursday, according to a statement released on Saturday.

But when the Croatian committed another foul in the 89th minute, Poll mistakenly wrote down the name of Australia's number three, Craig Moore, instead of Simunic, who was wearing the number three shirt for Croatia.

It added: "Graham Poll is an exceptional referee and a great sportsman, who would be able to overcome the situation thanks to his strong personality and love of the game". read a statement

"The FIFA referees committee also recognised the oversight and the fact that none of the match officials at the stadium picked up on the error."

FIFA spokesman Markus Siegler said the referees committee would meet on June 28 to decide which officials would take charge of matches from the quarter-final stage onwards.

Celebrations claim three lives in Ghana

Three people, including two children, have died in Ghana in recent days in the wild celebrations that followed victories by the World Cup debutants, police said on Friday.

Police spokesman David Eklu said the three were run over by cars in two separate incidents in the west African country's capital.

"A 32-year-old male was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver on Thursday evening in the frenzy of celebrations after Ghana's 2-1 victory over the US," Eklu said.

Eklu also revealed that after Ghana beat the Czech Republic 2-0 last Saturday "there were wild celebrations (and) a driver who was celebrating lost control ... two kids who were playing in the street died."

Three-year-old Elizabeth Teche-Appiah, was crushed to death while Tabber Mensah, 5, died the following day in hospital, according to the police.

No special ticket favours for Germany

The World Cup organising committee have informed hosts Germany there can be no special favours regarding ticket allocation and they will receive eight percent of purchaseable tickets like all the other teams.

Germany's team manager Oliver Bierhoff complained that player's families, including the family of captain Michael Ballack, had seats with restricted views for Saturday's last 16 clash with Sweden in Munich.

"Michael Ballack's children and parents must sit up top by the corner flag. That is ridiculous," Bierhoff said.

But Wolfgang Niersbach, vice-president of the organising committee, said there was nothing they could do as the ticketing rules were the same for all 32 teams at the World Cup.

"We have spoken to Oliver Bierhoff this morning and he is not satisfied," Niersbach said.

Smile more, Deschamps tells Henry

Thierry Henry, along with Patrick Vieira a goalscoring hero of France's 2-0 win over Togo, would be better off if he played the game with a smile on his face, 1998 winning skipper Didier Deschamps said on Friday.

Speaking after Henry and former Arsenal teammate Vieira helped lift France into the last 16 Deschamps told Radio Monte Carlo: "He has to have a smile on his face, he needs to laugh, to be happy, be communicative."

Deschamps added that Henry needed to be the lightning rod for the team.

"Thierry is a leader when he is enjoying things, when he is happy out there on the pitch."

Of Vieira he said the Juventus star would always be on song if he was in confident mode.

"If he feels confident there's nobody better."

FIFA to reform rankings system says Blatter

The much-ridiculed FIFA world rankings are to be revised and the new system unveiled on July 6 announced FIFA supremo Sepp Blatter on Friday.

Germany in particular have complained that them being 19th in the rankings while Mexico are fourth and the United States fifth is unfair and that they have been penalised for playing friendlies for the past two years.

As hosts, Germany did not have to qualify for the World Cup.

"The rankings system is to be modified," said Blatter.

"It will only take into account the results from the last four years and not eight.

"The new format will be unveiled on July 6," added the Swiss, who highlighted the case of fifth-ranked the United States as a case in point declaring that they had been hugely disappointing.