Draw overshadowed by player’s murder

THE murder of a former professional footballer on a golf course near Durban cast a shadow over the 2010 World Cup qualifying draw in South Africa.

Pieter Burgstaller, who used to play in goal for Salzburg, was an acquaintance of Franz Beckenbauer and German team manager Oliver Bierhoff. He was shot in the chest on Friday and robbed on a course 40 miles from Durban.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter condemned the murder but said the incident had no implications for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.