Roof dilemma casts shadow over World Cup

FIFA may close the roofs of the stadia in Frankfurt and Gelsenkirchen if there is bright sunshine for future games in an attempt to make TV pictures look more attractive.

Broadcasting executives have pointed out that the shadows on the pitch during the England v Paraguay game did not look very appealing.

FIFA communications director Markus Siegler said: “We understand it is not nice for the millions of people watching on TV to see all the ugly shadows. Two of our stadiums have a roof and we are currently assessing the possibility of closing the roofs. But the main persons are the players and we will make a decision with regard to the heat. It will not be like in the Silverdome in Detroit in 1994 when it was almost 50 degrees on the pitch.”