Soccer fans face 'bloodbath' in SA

Say it with a sting.....

Apr 10, 2010 10:31 PM | By MONICA LAGANPARSAD

A cheap British tabloid which claimed a "race war" had been declared in South Africa following Eugene Terre Blanche's killing is now under fire for dangerous and misleading reporting.

SENSATIONALIST: Daily Star cover
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The front page of the Daily Star on Monday warned England soccer fans headed for the World Cup that they faced a "bloodbath".

Not only has the newspaper received a backlash from outraged South Africans, but at least six complaints - two from UK residents and four from South Africans - have been lodged with the UK's Press Complaints Commission (PCC).

The Daily Star has described the response as "hysterical".

The article written by Steve Hughes on Monday is headlined ''World Cup War: Machete Threat to England Fans".

The story centres on race tensions in the country following last week's murder of the AWB leader and claims South Africa is on the brink of a "full-blown race war" with "machete gangs ... roaming the streets".

It suggests the World Cup is under threat of being moved to another country or cancelled, quoting an unnamed Fifa source saying it would be a "total nightmare" if civil war broke out.

A second inflammatory story two days later warned that the AWB was signing up an ''army of new recruits" and that World Cup officials were drawing up emergency plans.

One of the complainants to the PCC, a 32-year-old South African working in London, accused the Daily Star of running a ''sensationalist story without quoting any named or credible or official sources to back up their 'civil war' and 'machete' claims".

In an official complaint filed with the PCC, a copy of which she sent to the Sunday Times, she wrote: ''Amazingly, they don't quote on record a single Fifa official or SA government official to justify the story which is presented as fact ...

"It's ultimately very damaging to SA, all its people and the World Cup," she wrote.

Journalist Steve Hughes who wrote the story, refused to discuss the source.

"Given the hysterical response to this story, and the personal insults thrown at me by South African respondents, it is also clearly unsafe for me to reveal my sources, even if I was inclined to."

World Cup Local Organising Committee spokesman Rich Mhkondo dismissed the articles as ''garbage".

''We regard it as a joke and a waste of time for us to comment ... It's the worst form of gutter journalism," he said.

The Democratic Alliance said it was an unashamed attempt to put off British tourists.



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COMMENTS

Apr 11 2010 12:56:30 AM
NotElvis
My granny says this newspapers editor should be put on trial.
REPORT ABUSE Apr 11 2010 01:06:04 AM
Tackler
In a free country with a free press, anyone is free to make predictions about what might happen at some point in the future. Nothing wrong with that.
REPORT ABUSE Apr 11 2010 01:22:24 AM
thama1976
Shame on them they do not have a clue about SOUTH AFRICA nor anything about South Africans.
REPORT ABUSE Apr 11 2010 01:26:16 AM
Mzungu
"face" bloodbath is the wrong expression.


with 50 murders/day, "join" a bloodbath would have been more appropriate AND NOT misleading.

and that is a FACT
REPORT ABUSE Apr 11 2010 01:47:30 AM
beezlebum
If this SWC is a failure, it will be a blessing in disguise for the ANC govt because it will force them to rethink their policies and the way they have been governing the country. Nothing like international shame and condemnation to wake them up out of their complacency.
REPORT ABUSE Apr 11 2010 02:10:40 AM
Sechaba-is-not-a-fake-Communist
A newspaper read by uneducated british, these bloody agents
REPORT ABUSE Apr 11 2010 02:12:44 AM
NotElvis
@beezlebum - the W Cup will not be a failure.
All overseas fans are too scared to come here now.
They cant get robbed and mugged if theyre not here.
Thats what my granny says anyway.
REPORT ABUSE Apr 11 2010 02:47:17 AM
coffeewriter
Maybe I'll be able to get those semi-final tickets after all!
REPORT ABUSE Apr 11 2010 05:06:00 AM
grant9
I have often posted that FIFA was wrong to award the world cup to SA was wrong. We don't have the infastructure for an anticipated half a million visitors.

The report by the British 'Star' is purely sensational journalism.

People should realize that Britain has many newspapers catering for many tastes.
The papers at the lower end (or gutter press) are called the 'red bands'. The top of the front page has a red band on it.
In my opinion the British Star is the second worst.

People do not buy 'red tops' to be informed, only to entertained. I must say The Sun is not too bad, But if nuclear war broke out between India and Pakistan on the same day that the Bekum's split, the war would be on page 6.
REPORT ABUSE Apr 11 2010 05:14:28 AM
Tackler
Face facts --- SA is a very dangerous place. You're safer in Gaza or Kabul. Really. That's how bad the perception of it is. And perception becomes its own reality, just as how the old national flag is perceived as an "apartheid flag" even though it pre-dates apartheid by a full 20 years.
REPORT ABUSE

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Comment by Sonny

....."ET wanted to sodomise me, says accused".....

THIS IS JUST CHEAP ANC PROPAGANDA!

WE ARE USED TO IT IN SA!