U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said that gay football players at the World Cup in Brazil "should declare their sexuality to help make gays and lesbians accepted around the world." She said, "I encourage players, sports people to declare their sexual orientation without fear" (REUTERS, 6/16). ... IT security solutions firm Quick Heal Technologies said that malware artists are webbing plans to turn FIFA World Cup fans "into victims through a fresh wave of virus attacks." The company said in a press release,
"The company (Quick Heal) has already traced complaints of people duped in name of FIFA bookings and other information to fake websites" (Indian BUSINESS STANDARD, 6/16).
REFEREE DEFENSE: The Japan FA "has defended referee Yuichi Nishimura's command of English after his controversial performance in the World Cup opener." A JFA spokesperson said, "Seminars are conducted in English whenever a referee is to take part in an international match organized by FIFA" (AFP, 6/16).
ALL BETS IN: Sports betting "has bloomed in China in recent years" to become a market worth more than $480B. The FIFA World Cup "again proves how lucrative the market is," with an estimated revenue increase of $13.5B-$16.2B over the next month (WANT CHINA TIMES, 6/15). ... Singapore authorities last year "placed leaders of a global match-fixing ring operating from the city-state in indefinite detention after uncovering plans to rig the World Cup, claims a new book released on Monday." Written by Zaihan Mohamed Yusof, a Singaporean investigative journalist who has reported extensively on football match-fixing, the book "details how he learnt of the now-crippled gang’s plans from senior government officials and a prominent sports corruption investigator" (AFP, 6/16).
