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| May 31, 2002 | Friday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 18,1423 |
Co-hosts brace for kick-off
SEOUL, May 30: World Cup organisers were putting the finishing touches to plans for the greatest sporting event on earth here Thursday as protests over dog-meat and ticketing emerged.
With Friday’s opening ceremony in Seoul only a day away, tournament officials have everything in place for the month-long extravaganza co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.
Dual security concerns over possible terrorist attacks on the tournament and the threat posed by travelling hooligans remained on Thursday, with both host nations maintaining stringent checks at airport immigration control.
Reports in South Korea said thousands of suspects had been black-listed from entering the country, and a watchful eye was being kept on foreign residents hailing from countries accused by the United States of sponsoring terrorism.
Anti-hooligan spotters from several countries - including Argentina, England, Germany and Italy - were in place in Japan and dozens of suspected troublemakers have been turned back already.
Many experts believe the expensive costs involved of a trip to the Far East will deter most hooligans. Asian football officials are optimistic that the passionate yet peaceful home fans will play a part in heading off trouble.
“The atmosphere in the stadiums will be special with unrivalled noise and colour,” said Peter Velappan, FIFA’s World Cup co-ordinating director.
“This kind of spectator conduct, with cheer squads shouting on both teams, will discourage any foreign guys with a tendency for hooliganism.
“It will help subdue the situation if the bad elements are amongst the fun-loving spectators and hopefully they will join the fun.”
Elsewhere Thursday four animal rights campaigners sat in a cramped cage outside a Seoul royal palace in a bid to take their fight against South Korea’s dog meat eating onto the streets.
PETA’s chief Asian representative Jason Baker and British activist Yvonne Taylor joined two Korean members in the cage to demand amendments to South Korea’s animal cruelty laws.
“We are against the eating of all animals but this is not just to do with eating dog meat,” said Peope for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Asian representative Jason Baker.
“We want minimum standards of respect for the animals killed in this way,” said Baker.
“They may cover things up so that tourists and teams do not see the cruelty during the World Cup but afterwards everything will go back to normal.”
In Tokyo a row over ticket allocations for the tournament gathered pace, with the Japanese government demanding an explanation for thousands of undelivered World Cup tickets.
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Atsuko Toyama sent a letter to FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Wednesday, the ministry said.
“I should like to express, on behalf of the Japanese government, our great concern that since parts of international sales tickets have not been delivered to ticketholders yet, this might cause confusion at various venue sites before and on match days,” Toyama said in a copy of the faxed letter.
“With a view to ensuring a safe and enjoyable tournament, we consider this situation has reached a critical level,” she said.
As tournament organisers sweated on the last-minute arrangements, millions of football fans across the world were nervously following their teams preparations.—AFP
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