World Cup news snippets
World Cup news snippets
Posted: 2010-06-27 08:35
More than half of the Netherlands first-choice players are carrying yellow cards - a precarious situation if several pick up a second booking and the team advances to the World Cup quarterfinal after playing Slovakia.
The six players are Robin van Persie, Rafael van der Vaart, Dirk Kuyt, Nigel de Jong and Gregory van der Wiel and captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
The Netherlands and Slovakia play in their round of 16 match in Durban on Monday. Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk wants the six to play with all-out commitment, but without getting cautioned.
Albiol picks up leg injury
Spain defender Raul Albiol is in doubt for the rest of the World Cup campaign after sustaining a fibula injury, according to reports from CNN.
The Real Madrid defender picked up the problem during Spain's training session this afternoon following a clash with Fernando Llorente, immediately asking for medical assistance.
Albiol was visibly in pain as he was carried off the pitch by Spain doctor Oscar Celada and physio Fernando Galan.
He has been taken to a hospital to assess the extent of the injury and rule out the possibility of a broken fibula.
Spain, who will meet Portugal in the World Cup's Round of 16, returned to training yesterday afternoon following Friday's 2-1 victory of Chile.
R6,5-m lost in ticket scams
South African companies lost more than R6,5-million World Cup ticketing scams, according to a report published in the Sunday Times today.
The newspaper said the companies, along with many local and foreign fans, had lost large amounts after buying tickets that were later canceled because they were not bought through Fifa-accredited agents.
The report said Clifford Green, a lawyer acting for Fifa and accredited ticket sales company Match, had a dossier of affidavits from seven companies, including petrochemicals group Sasol, detailing their losses.
The affidavit reportedly showed that Sasol had paid R3.3 million to a ticketing company for 110 tickets to group games, the semifinals and the final.
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