European Press Nonplussed with German Stadium Row

Some might have described it as a storm in a tea cup or handbags at dawn but some European newspapers were taking an altogether more cautious look at the row developing in Germany over the reported deficiencies in standards at the country's World Cup Stadiums.

The Italians barely covered the story in the press but a radio report on Tuesday stated that while the stadiums in Germany were "nice", it could not be ruled out that some could be "nicely dangerous."

Spanish papers also steered clear of the touchy subject with only El Mundo offering more than a few lines on the World Cup -- and even then the article made no mention of the stadium furor. The row didn't even show up on the radar of the French and Polish papers which didn’t print a relevant word.

Organizing Committee's nerves fraying, say Swiss

In Switzerland, the Neue Züricher Zeitung wrote about the "fraying nerves of the German World Cup Organizing Committee (OK)." The paper commented on the apparent over reaction of the OK to the report by consumer watchdog Stiftung Warentest's into stadium safety, saying that it took barely a word to stir the OK into a round of "accusations and polemics."

The Swiss tabloid Blick commented that the blast from the OK will certainly not be the last to be heard on the subject and it foresaw a rumbling disagreement that will last until the beginning of the World Cup on June 9 and beyond.

Much of the Scandinavian press offered a sensible take on the whole row by putting its faith in the German organizers and the emergency services.

The view was supported by the Swedish soccer federation which was widely quoted in the press as saying that the massive criticism of German stadiums was no reason for restlessness. "We trust authorities like the police and fire brigade 100 percent," said federation secretary general Sune Hellströmer on Wednesday.

British "shadenfreude" over stadium furor

As could be expected, the British took the opportunity to divert their own shortcomings in the stadium stakes by commenting on the Germans. "Forget the little thing about the opening date of the new Wembley stadium," the Times wrote, "Germany has some proper stadium problems." The new national stadium in London has been beset with constructional problems and the official opening date is far from certain.

The Daily Mirror, however, took a more somber tone, recounting Britain's experiences of tragedy at soccer stadiums. With the disasters at Heysel, Hillsborough and Bradford in mind, the Mirror warned: "The masses at this year's World Cup in Germany could be in danger, as there seems to have been nothing learnt from past disasters."