The Colombian national team sent an "official complaint" to FIFA regarding the "treatment" it received from Sao Paulo police while traveling to Belo Horizonte for its World Cup opener. The Colombian delegation said that "it received verbal attacks and disrespectful treatment from police officers on its arrival at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport." A statement from the Colombian Football Federation said, "The Colombian national team regrets the actions of Sao Paulo State Federal Police assigned to the team's security, which repeatedly bothered the players and coaching staff" (LA AFICION, 6/15).
TWITTER BACKLASH: Former Australian national team player Scott Chipperfield "has come under fire for sending a tweet regarding an Ivory coast player that was interpreted as being racist." While watching the Ivory Coast's come-from-behind 2-1 World Cup victory over Japan on TV, Chipperfield tweeted of midfielder Serey Die, "Serey die looks like a typical African. Forget how to play. Need brains to play football" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 6/15). ... Backlash "is mounting" against Italian Senate VP Maurizio Gasparri after he "celebrated Italy's World Cup win over England with a vulgar Twitter outburst" calling English people "pretentious pricks." Gasparri tweeted, "It’s always a pleasure to say “go ... themselves” to the English ... pretentious and pricks" (London GUARDIAN, 6/15).
RETAIL STORM: The World Cup kicked off on Thursday in Brazil, but "well before this" the tournament "kicked off a retail storm in China's traditional and virtual markets." On online shopping site Taobao, "searches for World Cup-related merchandise have surged 60% over the past 10 days." Hong Kong consumers "accounted for the largest number of the searches, followed by those from Tianjin, Shanghai, Beijing and Guangdong" (WANT CHINA TIMES, 6/14).
FLOOD WATCH: Rain-soaked workers were "scrambling to complete the Beira Rio stadium" in Porto Alegre "on the eve of its World Cup debut on Sunday while sensitive officials looked on nervously." With the Group E clash between France and Honduras looming, the stadium "resembled a muddy construction site following two days of steady and sometimes torrential rain that slowed the pace of work" (REUTERS, 6/15).
