FIFA rebukes England over foreign media shutout
FIFA [ ] rebuked England [ ] on Sunday for only taking questions from British TV reporters in their pre-Germany match briefing which sparked resentment from foreign media who branded the camp as "arrogant".
Soccer's world governing body also rapped Germany [ ] whose coach did not appear to receive questions in their pre-match press conference ahead of the eagerly awaited second round clash between the old rivals in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
"Fair play applies not only on the pitch but also off the pitch and this applies also for press conferences," FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot told reporters.
"We've taken note of what has happened for both teams not only England but England and Germany," he added.
FIFA guidelines say the coaches must hold a news briefing a day ahead of their matches. Even secretive North Korea's coach has taken questions from foreign media.
More than 250 journalists from around the world and 30 TV crews attended the England briefing on Saturday but were infuriated as the Football Association's head of media Adrian Bevington took only eight questions from hand-picked journalists for a five-minute briefing which yielded little new.
Bevington told Reuters afterwards that he had fully complied with FIFA regulations and Maingot said there were no disciplinary provisions for such cases.
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