World Cup tidbits

Teacher Referee

Ben Williams sacrificed his salary as a teacher for six months in order to prepare for the World Cup, and on Sunday it paid off. Williams became the first Australian referee to control a second-round match at a World Cup during the game between Costa Rica and Greece.

The 37-year-old teacher at a government school in Canberra also handled two group matches in Brazil. He said he didn't mind taking unpaid leave from his day job to chase his dream.

"It's a bit strange to see the pay slip come through with all zeroes, but it's a sacrifice that's definitely worth it for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Williams said.

He had a busy day on Sunday, sending off Costa Rica's Oscar Duarte in the 66th minute, along with seven yellow cards.

Twitter Record

Nervous Brazilian soccer fans took to Twitter to breathe a collective sigh of relief as the final tension-filled moments of a penalty shootout against Chile broke an all-time record for online buzz during a live event.

Almost 389,000 tweets were generated in the 60 seconds after Chilean defender Gonzalo Jara's penalty shot hit the right post and allowed the five-time World Cup champion to avoid an early exit from the tournament that it's hosting for the first time since 1950.

That broke the previous mark set during this year's Super Bowl, when about 382,000 tweets were sent just after the Seattle Seahawks' Percy Harvin returned a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown, according to data compiled by the microblogging site.

Team USA's strong performance at the World Cup is driving up interest in soccer and the group stage match against Portugal set record TV numbers in the US. But overall, the Super Bowl generated nearly 25 million tweets, trouncing the 16.4 million sent during the Brazil-Chile match.

Untimely Tweet

What was meant to be a joke turned into a PR blunder for Dutch airline KLM after it angered Mexican fans by taking to Twitter to celebrate the Netherlands' dramatic comeback victory in the World Cup.

Within minutes of the Netherlands' 2-1 victory over the Tri, KLM posted on its Twitter feed a picture of an airport departures sign under the heading "Adios Amigos!"

The post immediately went viral, with A-list Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal using not one but two expletives in a 140-character Tweet to tell his 2 million-plus followers that he'll never fly the carrier again. Amid the widespread protest online, the post was pulled a half-hour later without an explanation.

"It was meant to be a joke," said KLM spokesman Lisette Ebeling Koning, adding that the airline never intended to offend Mexicans. "But there was too much negative reaction."

Dogged Support

With Sao Paulo gripped by World Cup fever, all sorts of people are adorned in yellow and green Brazil team gear. But dogs?

At Parque Trainon, dog owners appear to have imposed their loyalties on their four-legged friends. Dogs of all shapes and sizes have been spotted with Brazilian flags around their collars, capes over the shoulders, even hats wrapped around their floppy ears.

One canine named Nino had a blue Brazil outfit wrapped around his small body. His owner said it was to protect against a rash - but she had no medical excuse for the baseball cap on his head. It was her son's idea of showing support after Brazil won a penalty shootout with Chile.

Nino's Sunday morning playmate, a mutt named Nina, had more straightforward attire - a plain yellow jumper featuring Neymar's No 10.

Agencies

(China Daily 07/01/2014 page23)