Russian fan apologises to reporter
BERlIN: A Russian football fan apologised on Friday for groping and kissing a German TV correspondent during a live telecast from the World Cup. "I offer you most profound apologies," he told Colombian journalist Julieth Gonzalez Theran in a video call that was shown by broadcaster Deutsche Welle. "I acted carelessly and did not think that I would cause you confusion and shock," added the fan, who declined to give his name. Theran was reporting from the Russian city of Saransk when the man appeared suddenly, one hand grabbing her arm and the other her breast while kissing her on the cheek. His abrupt action sparked condemnation of sexual harassment from the German international channel, whose clip of the incident went viral online. The Russian man said he had placed a bet with a friend that he could kiss the reporter on the cheek, and had waited for her to go on-air before springing on her. He added that he thought he was grabbing her shoulders with both hands but "apparently I missed a little". Theran said she appreciated his apology and voiced her determination to move on from the episode. "I refuse to be a victim, I just want to continue with my job," she said.
Indian fan on suicide mission
KOTTAYAM: Upset over Argentina's poor showing in the ongoing football world cup, a 30-year-old ardent fan of the South American team has left his home here, saying in a note he was going to end his life, police said on Friday. A search was on for Dinu Alex, missing since he left his home at nearby Arumanoor village on Thurusday night after Argentina suffered a 0-3 rout against Croatia. In a suicide note, found in his room, Alex has said he was upset with Argentina's defeat and was going to end his life, police said. Police said they along with Fire and Rescue service personnel were also searching in a nearby river as a sniffer dog ran up to the river bank and stopped there. Father of Alex said his son was a great fan of lionel Messi, captain of Argentina, which has just one point from two games so far in the world cup in Russia.
Peru vows to finish with victory
YEKATERINBURG: Peru coach Ricardo Gareca has praised his team for their endeavours during the game against France and assured that Peru will try to finish the tournament with a victory. Following the losses to Denmark and France in the World Cup group stage, Peru has been eliminated from the list of last 16. Gareca said at the post-match press conference on Thursday night that the team "gave their all" and he can't reproach the boys. Despite their proactive attacking game, the Peru players could not harvest even one goal or one point on the board in the World Cup. Facing Australia as the last opponent on June 26, Gareca vowed to finish the tournament with a victory. "We also have one match to play and we need to do our best for the fans who travelled all the way here," said the coach. This is the first time Peru reached the World Cup finals since 1982.
French coach lauds team's progress
YEKATERINBURG: France head coach Didier Deschamps said he was very satisfied that his team had progressed to the knockout stage in the FIFA World Cup. A victory against Peru in Yekaterinburg on Thursday night enabled France to top Group C with six points and ensured their place in the list of last 16. "We are in the knockout stages so we are very satisfied," the France coach said in the post-match press conference. Although there was a lot of criticism of France's performance in the second half, Deschamps emphasized that what really matters was the victory. "We have won and we have qualified. We have shown beautiful things in the first half and have not conceded goals. We did what was necessary to obtain the second victory," he said.
China’s fair share for football
BEIJING: More than half of the Chinese fans who have bought tickets for the 2018 World Cup are women, and the visitors are expected to spend millions of dollars in Russia, according to a report released on Friday. Chinese tour operator Ctrip estimates around 100,000 Chinese fans will travel to Russia for the World Cup, ranking third amongst all countries, according to the Global Times newspaper. The visitors will likely spend at least 3 billion yuan based on tickets, consumer services and inter-city transportation in Russia. About 57 percent of the Chinese visitors are women and, according to the travel agency, many of them admitted that the main reason for their trip to Russia is to see the players up close. According to the report, Ctrip's outbound tourism manager Xiao Yinyuan said there are about 20 flights to Russia from China every day and the average occupancy rate of flights to Russia's popular cities is over 90 percent.