Consumer Magazine Damages Cup Preparation Efforts

German consumer reports magazine Stiftung Warentest two weeks ago released scathing results of tests it conducted on the 12 stadiums hosting the 2006 World Cup. World Cup organizers, however, call the reporting irresponsible and are demanding a correction and apology from the magazine.

DW-WORLD: Do you think the OC's public calls for an apology from Stiftung Warentest are a good idea?

Theo Zwanziger: Yes, it is urgently needed. If I spread nonsense, I have to be ready to back off. I cannot give a red card to stadiums that among the best in the world. What does giving a red card mean? The red card is expulsion from the competition. It (the magazine) has strikingly entered the scene in a way that hurts the German World Cup efforts and our country.

Do you think that Stiftung Warentest is going to back pedal?

I don't know, and it doesn't matter to me. But we have to demand it. We are not opposed to information, help or advice.

The press has started saying the OC whining, is this debate helping Germany's image before the World Cup?

This has absolutely nothing to do with whining. We owe the stadium operators a degree of protection. They went to great efforts and spent a large amount of tax money, such as in Kaiserslautern, to build a great stadium. We are not going to let anyone say it deserves a red card.

Moving to the cancelled opening event FIFA had planned for Berlin. Was the problem really with the grass?

You cannot underestimate that a World Cup pitch for this kind of tournament is a little different than a field near a club team somewhere. It is completely different. Not just the way it's used, but even the television broadcasts and a number of other things make it a very different entity. Fundamentally, it is where the World Cup happens.

The Dutch turf laying company is saying it could replace the turf in 17 hours without a problem.

We've had these experiences before. Turf laying companies and manufactures always say that. But we have to guarantee success under even extremely harsh weather conditions. They don't know what kind of weather we're going to have when the tournament comes around.

But a trimmed down version of the show is going to take place in Munich, where players will take the field a few hours later.

The two events have absolutely nothing to do with each other. Absolutely nothing.

So no one is going to go on the field in Munich?

It will be covered. There will not be any demands made of the turf in Munich as was planned for the gala in Berlin.

The incidents with Stiftung Warentest and the Berlin gala cancellation have tarnished the image of the 2006 World Cup. How do you see the current mood in Germany?

It is possible to clear up a tarnished image. That is why I don't think the image in Germany has been tarnished. Once the first match has started, we'll see the same excitement we experienced during the Confederations Cup in an even greater form.

And outside of Germany?

Outside of Germany the safety of our stadiums has been irresponsibly discredited, and that is why I am so upset about what Stiftung Warentest has done. People in England, Austria, Switzerland and Holland are rubbing their hands with glee and pointing to Stiftung Warentest. But that is something Stiftung Warentest has to work out with them.