Heat takes its toll on players at World Cup

By Thomas Pruefer Jun 12, 2006, 14:15 GMT

David Beckham of England on the ground during the group B match of 2006 FIFA World Cup between England and Paraguay in Frankfurt on Saturday10 June 2006. England won 1-0. EPA/ARNE DEDERT

Berlin - The fans may be enjoying the blue skies and endless sunshine Germany is currently experiencing but the teams they are supporting are struggling in the baking conditions.

England were the first team to complain about the weather after their 1-0 victory over Paraguay in Frankfurt Saturday but since then others, most noticeably Dutch coach Marco van Basten, have added their voices to the issue.

The English Football Association (FA) revealed that some England players lost up to 3.5 kilograms during their mid-afternoon match.

Sven-Goran Eriksson's side wilted noticeably in the heat in the latter stages of the game despite players taking on board a total of 70 litres of water during the game compared to a usual 20 litres.

Van Basten said his players 'nearly died' during Sunday afternoon's match against Serbia and Montenegro in Leipzig where pitch temperatures tipped 40 Celsius. Match referee Markus Merk stopped the match after 39 minutes to allow both sets of players a drinks break.

'It was the common sense rule,' explained Merk. 'As an experienced referee you don't need any guidelines. If the opportunity presents itself, I happily give players a break in these temperatures.'

There is nothing in the FIFA guidelines telling a referee to allow drinks breaks and the English FA has already asked football's ruling body to consider changes to their policy as they claim they had difficulty in getting enough water to their players.

'It is important referees take account of this when you are playing in such severe heat,' said FA spokesperson Adrian Bevington.

However, FIFA would only say that while it encourages players to drink as much water as possible during a match, it won't alter its rules on when footballers can take on liquid.

Under FIFA guidelines players can take on fluids during breaks in play while teams are also allowed to place bottles around the pitch as long as they don't hinder the assistant referees.

Team officials aren't allowed throw bottles to players on the pitch as FIFA argue that this could lead to possible injury to players.

Players and coaches are agreed that the problem is at its greatest for matches that kick off in mid-afternoon.

'Our main problem isn't Andriy Shevchenko but the early kickoff time,' said Ukraine coach Oleg Blochin ahead of Wednesday's afternoon match against Spain in Leipzig.

The overall situation hasn't been helped by FIFA's decision to close the roof at the stadiums in Frankfurt and Gelsenkirchen to reduce the shadows which are causing problems for broadcasters.

But not everyone is worried about the heat. The United States team say they are delighted to be finally able to enjoy a spot of sun while Victor Mestanza, spokesman for Ecuador's football federation, beamed that 'this is our kind of weather'. Costa Rica team doctor Francisco Uribe simply said that 'we prefer it like this'.

Meanwhile, South Korean coach Dick Advocaat was one person who refused to use the hot weather as an excuse ahead of his side's afternoon match with Togo on Tuesday.

'I hope that despite the hot weather my players can still be that step quicker than their opponents,' he said. 'After all, this is what they have trained for.'