Vidic out of World Cup

BILLERBECK: Defender Nemanja Vidic is out of the World Cup because of a knee injury, a severe blow to the beleaguered Serbia-Montenegro team. Vidic, of Manchester United, injured his left knee when he slid on grass during a Monday training session as he was reaching for a ball and left the pitch in pain, team spokesman Aleksandar Boskovic said Tuesday. Vidic, considered the team’s biggest star, injured ligaments in his left knee, “putting him out of play for several weeks, which means he will miss the World Cup even if we reach the finals,” Boskovic said.

German fan stabbed

HAMBURG: A German World Cup fan was attacked by four men and stabbed in a town near Hamburg, apparently because he had painted his country’s flag on his cheeks, police said on Tuesday. The 20-year-old man was leaving a disco on Friday night when he was set upon by the four men, also all around 20, said Juergen Gramsch, a spokesman for police in Schenefeld. “The victim stated that he was taunted because of his short haircut and German flags on his cheeks,” Gramsch said.

A fan suffer heart attack

BEIJING: A Chinese football fan suffered a heart attack during a World Cup match following three sleepness nights of heavy drinking and watching the tournament on television, a doctor said on Tuesday. The 42-year-old man, surnamed Zhang, from Qingdao in eastern China’s Shandong province, became agitated after seeing Portugal miss a goal against Angola, according to newspaper reports. “He spent too long continuously watching the games and he drank too much,” Yin Zuomin, a doctor said.

Lavolpe in trouble

BERLIN: Mexican coach Ricardo Lavolpe will be given a warning about smoking on the touchlines at the World Cup after he lit up during the 3-1 victory over Iran. FIFA officials spotted Lavolpe smoking when they reviewed the videotape of Sunday’s match in Nuremberg. “An official letter will be sent to the Mexican federation underlining that neither the coaches nor anyone else on the sidelines is allowed to smoke,”FIFA’s head of communications Markus Siegler said. Although spectators in the stadiums are permitted to smoke, players, coaches and officials are prohibited to do so.

Australian fans warned

SYDNEY: Australian men were warned on Tuesday that their unhealthly World Cup diets would result in them “blimping out”, as the nation’s interest in the tournament soared after the Socceroos’ victory over Japan. Dietician Karen Inge said Australian men’s love of beer and fatty foods would have their waistlines bulging if they did not adopt a healthy regimen over the month-long tournament. Inge said she conducted a spot survey asking about 20 Australian males what they were eating during the event and was concerned about the results.