FIFA 2010 World Cup: World Cup replicas stolen amidst dismissive security from World Cup HQ and violence issues reminds South African Police of security
While there have been continuous assurances about the presence of high level security by the FIFA president; the recent incident of thievery and violence has sparked up the lack of security issue at the World Cup again and does the President of FIFA Sepp Blatter even know what is going on inside his own offices.
First reports have confirmed that the robbers managed to break into offices of FIFA that were given high level security assurances. It is said the thieves entered the offices without much trouble and managed to acquire some replica silverware for the trophy case back home.
Later upon the arrival of Police it was stated that the robbers got their hands on 7 replicas made by FIFA. The robbery occurred at the World Cup headquarters which is currently situated in Johannesburg South Africa.
While Sepp Blatter acknowledges that he has the security matter under control, the incident has left football lovers all over the world bamboozled. Earlier in the World Cup at the opening ceremony security threats had surfaced when celebrities and luminaries wanted to attend the event and their private security guards made them aware of the threat.
In response to that Sepp Blatter made a couple of crude replies and the board of security at the World Cup told that they had accomplished their best. The police on the other hand were novices at handling the flaring media situation and replied with they had done their best though their necks won’t be under the axe if something goes wrong.
The opening ceremony in the end was attended by many celebrities though the person who had to initiate the event upon Sepp Blatter’s request, former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, was unable to attend as his granddaughter had passed away in a tragic car crash.
FIFA has kept the security issue under control apparently. However, after the recent robbery of the World Cup icon from right under Sepp Blatter’s nose, media is certainly going to bring up the issue again.
Media was eventually able to catch up with the extremely busy South African police commissioner Gen. Bheki Cele. He commented on the issue saying, “We know there was a burglary at the FIFA offices. Seven replicas of the World Cup were stolen and several sweaters. Police are looking into it”.
The FIFA authorities are claiming it to be the act of a person who was very familiar with the environments of the offices. In other words they reckon it’s an insider’s job. They have stated, “the person has to be... very familiar with the environment in the FIFA offices”. They also jokingly added that it could be a person with the unrevealed FIFA sweaters as they were nicked along with trophies.
There have been other acts of violence going on too; in the northern region a man was beaten to death by his family for not letting them watch a spiritual programme while he himself watched the World Cup proceedings.
This act was pretty far out in the outskirts, the acts in the World Cup area are rising too. As the final comes closer tensions between traditional rivals in the World Cup are rising. There are reports of quarrels and quandaries growing by the day, which is making the police busier by the day.
The police might also have a bit too much on their plate. On a somewhat ironic and lighter note it is presented that the first crime with assistance of this World Cup’s star instrument, ‘vuvuzela’ occurred when a man beat up a police man with it.
Reports have confirmed that some German fans were heading home when a tussle between a police man who was guiding traffic around a crowd occurred. The police man told, “As he turned to the 20-year-old, the man suddenly began hitting and kicking the officer. Furthermore he began pounding the officer’s head with a vuvuzela”.
The onlookers have told that in the end it took three men to pull the vuvuzela armed man off the police man. The policeman suffered severe head injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital.
This was just a light reminder for the security present at World Cup; other ugly incidents can occur towards the end of the World Cup. This should remind them to be on toes during this last period if they want a successful World Cup to happen.
Tags: