First division German soccer club Nuremberg have lodged a complaint with the German Soccer Federation (DFB), accusing Borussia Dortmund fans of using banned gas canister hooters in a league match. Nuremberg president Michael A Roth said the noise made by the hooters had disturbed his men on their way to a 3-0 defeat by the 1997 European champions in Dortmund on Saturday.
"Hooters are banned in stadiums," he mewed. "The noise those things make prevented our players from hearing the orders given to them." All very trivial compared to problems encountered in a soccer match in South Africa.
According to South African police a referee is to appear in court charged with murdering a player. The incident occurred two weeks ago at a small stadium 180 kilometres north west of Johannesburg in a match between the Try Agains and the Wallabies watched by 600 spectators.
Wallabies player Isaac Mkhwetha (20) is alleged to have charged at referee Lebogang Mokgethi with a knife after the official allowed a goal by the trailing Try Agains late in the second half which pulled the deficit back to 2-1, police captain Louis Jacobs said.
The referee is alleged to have taken out a pistol and shot the player in the chest, Jacobs added. The player died later at the police station. Referee Mokgethi (34) has been charged with murder and is to appear in a magistrate's court.
