Two Dutch women were released on bail yesterday after facing charges that they broke a law covering ambush marketing by wearing mini-dresses promoting a brewery at a World Cup match. The women are being prosecuted under the Contravention of Merchandise Marks Act, which prevents companies benefiting from an event without paying for advertising. South African police arrested the women at their hotel in the Johannesburg district of Roodepoort on Wednesday, two days after they were questioned at the Holland-Denmark game. They appeared at Johannesburg Magistrates Court and were released on bail of 10,000 rand (Dh4,834) each, with their next court appearance set for Tuesday. "We view ambush marketing in a very serious light and we urge people not to embark on these ambush campaigns," police said in a statement. The women were among a group of more than 30 Dutch women who attended Monday's match at Soccer City wearing dresses paid for by the brewery company Bavaria.
Saleh al Marzouqi, the Emirati referee, will make his World Cup debut in the match between France and Mexico in Polokwane tonight. He will be an assistant to the Saudi Arabian referee Khalil al Ghamdi.
South Africa will deport 17 more Argentines for hooliganism after raiding their living quarters, police said yesterday. South Africa has so far deported 11 Argentines and one United Kingdom national was refused entry in the build-up to the World Cup.
Stephen Appiah, the Ghana midfielder, has won his appeal against an order to pay Fenerbahce ?2 million (Dh9m) in compensation over the termination of his contract. Appiah quit the Turkish club in August 2008 in a row over the treatment he had received on a serious knee injury which had kept him out for nine months up to that point. The injury kept him out of the African Cup of Nations in his home country earlier that year.
Boris Johnson, the London mayor, has joined the vuvuzela chorus in South Africa. But he does not want the horns to catch on back home in England. Johnson arrived in Cape Town yesterday to tout his city's hosting of the 2012 Olympics, and his country's bid for the World Cup in 2018. He said London and England could learn a lot from South Africa's impressive staging of football's biggest event, and offered two blasts from the vuvuzela. He called it a "beautiful instrument," but said he did not want vuvuzelas at the London Games.
Do what your mother always told you, Germany coaches have been telling players as they look to make sure a cold front does not affect their preparations for tomorrow's match against Serbia. "All the players have to follow the type of advice your mother gave you. Blow dry your hair after the shower and always dress warm," Hansi Flick , the assistant coach, told reporters. The freezing temperatures at their Erasmia training base near Pretoria have already claimed one victim, with Bastian Schweinsteiger training alone yesterday to shake off a cold. The midfielder will be fit to play against Serbia, though.
Brazilian organisers of the 2014 World Cup have dropped Sao Paulo's Morumbi stadium as a host venue because the city has failed to provide financial guarantees. The Brazilian football federation says the Morumbi will not be used, and the city's revised version of the project will not be examined. The 50-year-old Morumbi stadium was due a US$135 million (Dh495m) refurbishment to create a 68,000-capacity venue for the finals. It was intended to host group stage and second-round matches plus a semi-final, but the project has been plagued by delays and criticised by Fifa. Jerome Valcke, Fifa's secretary general, said last month it was "amazing" that Brazil's planning for 12 venues to host the finals had fallen so far behind schedule.
With a labour dispute in stalemate, the South African police say they will take over security duties at four major stadiums for the rest of the World Cup. Because of a strike over wages by privately hired security stewards, police had already taken over their duties on an interim basis. The announcement yesterday made clear authorities no longer expect a settlement of the dispute, and the police takeover will last through the final on July 11. The decision was made after a meeting between police officials and the local organising committee.
