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.”

ENGLAND’S third-minute winner against Paraguay has been confirmed by FIFA as the fastest own goal in the history of the World Cup. Carlos Gamarra, Paraguay’s captain, is the man with the unwanted record.

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THE official FIFA-adidas World Cup match ball has been causing consternation among goalkeepers, who think it offers the strikers an unfair advantage.

USA keeper Kasey Keller is among those to voice his disapproval. But the former Spurs man should expect no sympathy from his manager Bruce Arena — a goalkeeper himself during his playing days.

“The goalkeepers don’t like this ball and they didn’t like the ball four years ago,” Arena said. “They never like the ball. The only time they would be happy is if it was square and heavy.”

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SINGER Toni Braxton had a Janet Jackson moment at the opening ceremony of the 2006 World Cup in Munich. The chanteuse was leaving the pitch after her performance when her left nipple briefly was exposed to the public, captured by a photograph in Bild am Sonntag.

The incident was greeted with amusement, unlike the reaction in America to Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” while performing with Justin Timberlake in the 2004 SuperBowl half-time show.

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ALL of the 216 drugs tests carried out by FIFA in the build-up to the World Cup have returned negative findings.

Doping control doctors conducted unannounced tests at 24 friendly matches and at the training camps of all 32 participating teams.