The former Austria Salzburg goalkeeper Peter Burgstaller died this morning in South Africa on a golf course in Durban. He was shot dead, his mobile phone was stolen by the murderer. German National team manager Oliver Bierhoff was robbed this morning in a luxury hotel in Durban. The delinquents took his mobile phone, passport and his briefcase with documents regarding the upcoming WCQ. http://www.netzeitung.de/sport/wm2010/823670.html South Africa 2010...this is day 1 in Durban! I don't think the World Cup will be safe there.
Re: WCQ in Durban: Fromer Austrian player shot dead Very sad, R.I.P. Unfortunately, there are still serious tensions between whites and blacks in South Africa and violent crimes are often being committed, I hope that the safety of European teams won't be compromised.
Re: WCQ in Durban: Fromer Austrian player shot dead Why isn't this getting more/any play in the media? It seems like critics would want to jump all over this story.
Re: WCQ in Durban: Fromer Austrian player shot dead Of course we're only bothered about the safety of Europeans, I mean afterall they are the only people that count.....
^^^ As a fan you can watch WC2010 in your house(in Germany for expl.), but the players cannot play from Germany.
Don't you think that's just a tiny bit unrealistic? Fans are going to flock to SA and their safety is obviously a major concern for planners. Blatter's response took me somewhat aback though... source: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/147780.html
Re: WCQ in Durban: Fromer Austrian player shot dead I meant that the hatred of radical locals may be directed against European teams, because European countries are the ones that are usually associated with colonialism, apartheid regimes etc. I am worried about the safety of all teams, but Europeans could be the prime targets.
After Munich 1972, no sporting team will travel without armed guards in a major sporting event. Most of them stay in fortress, not hotels. I am not too worried about the teams.
Re: WCQ in Durban: Fromer Austrian player shot dead No. Unguarded people with money will be the prime targets. South Africa's problems, particularly those related to WC2010, have a lot more to do with intense poverty and the subsequent breakdown of social networks than with an ideological war against the Dutch, British, and (by extension?) other Europeans.
Oh, I see, in that case there may be less grounds for concern, but affluent tourists of all nationalities would indeed have to be very careful.
Re: WCQ in Durban: Fromer Austrian player shot dead No, they are not the only ones who count, but apparently they are the only ones that have anything worth murdering for. Don't kid yourself into thinking that these crimes are not racially motivated. They looked at 2 whites, assumed that they had something worth taking and took it, murdering one in the process. I hate to say this, but the truth is, non-whites can be just as dangerous, bigoted, and racist as a white person. Racism in not purely a white weakness, but is part of the human condition. Folks that are going over there, need to be warned that because of the color of their skin they are going to be a target. It only makes good common sense. This is reality not propaganda. These crimes happened in one weekend. Imagine what it could be like with when thousands of extra Caucasian sheep show up in 2010. However I'm still willing to go and give South Africa the time to work these problems out before we attend. I do believe the Cup can be safe and spectacular. At least this can be our community prayer.
I travelled to South Africa before. It is a country where you have to travel as a smart tourist. We will see a lot of dumb tourists in the summer of 2010 and someone will get themselves in trouble.
Re: WCQ in Durban: Fromer Austrian player shot dead My German isn't the best.... But did the article even say that the robbers where non-white?? Or are you just making that assumption..... Hmmmmmm...
Re: WCQ in Durban: Fromer Austrian player shot dead My German is non-existant. You are right though, I did assume that the criminals were non-whites. That may in fact not be the case. I am just taking a shot in the dark that since the vast majority of the population is non-white, that the math would just make since. You way be right. White South Africans may be hanging out at posh hotels and country clubs, just to steal other white peoples cell phones and wallets. However on the chance that this is not the case I stand by my previous post. P.S. What happened with Sevilla? I get a chance to watch Arsenal some here in America and I am telling my kids to play like Cesc. Better luck next time.
Not good news, I'm not surprised though. By playing smart you can probably stay out of trouble, but who wants to spend a lot of money and go thousands of miles just to think about how not to get robbed or even killed?
Re: WCQ in Durban: Fromer Austrian player shot dead I'm not even sure that I should bother responding to a post of such sarcastic nature. So white people commiting crimes against other white people is unheard of??? I see (yes, with my own eyes) white-on-white crime all the time. Oh and just because two white people were the victims in this article doesn't mean that black people can't or don't get robbed too. Anybody of any colour can hang around a hotel with the intention of robbing a victim of any colour. Why does this have to turn to race? Race wasn't even mentioned in the article. Bierhoff for example, I'm pretty sure was robbed because he is Oliver Bierhoff, not because he is white. Cobi Jones or Samuel Kuffour or Ian Wright could just as easily be robbed (if they were there).