German Official Denies Accuracy to in-adequate World Cup Germany 2006 Stadium Safety

Mr Futbol News [1/19/2006]

According to one of Germanys top soccer officials, dispute over safety at stadiums for this year's World Cup 2006 Germany scared the country's image. The German consumer group Stiftung Warentest released a new study last week stating that four (4) of the 12 WC Germany stadiums lacked adequate fire safety measures and escape routes in the case of an emergency. This quickly caused unrest among the German market. Many ticket sales dropped due to this acclamation.

World Cup organizers swiftly demanded a new study, calling it unreliable and unproved. They also commented on Stiftung Warentest and said that they should stick to rating cars, electronics and beauty products. Stiftung Warentest has mostly be known for publishing consumer reports on famous automobiles including Mercedes Benz and Audi. FIFA or the World Cup board would not allow any of this.

"We don't have problems with criticism, but only when it's justified. Stiftung Warentest didn't think about the impact of their research," German soccer federation president Theo Zwanziger said Wednesday. "Outside of Germany, around the world things look really gloomy. The alleged security holes in the World Cup stadiums was commented on critically and to the detriment and degrading of Germany. Reports surfaced especially in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and of course England.

Zwanziger said the negative report may have been hyped up in the three countries because of long-standing soccer rivalries with Germany. Although this has not been confirmed, it is suspect in the case.

Although Zwanziger doesn't believe the study had much of a big impact on the German public. Yet, gossip and and chat rooms all around Europe have began discussing this hot topic. To discuss soccer/football gossip please go to our forum.

All 12 stadiums selected for soccer's showcase classic, which begins June 9 are new or have been remodeled and renovated recently. A couple of the stadiums were newly built in the upcoming years with this event in mind, so security measures are not as big as a problem for them. The first game kicks off at Munich's new football complex, Allianz Arena. The final game will be played in Berlin at the Olympic Stadium.

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