World Cup frenzy reflects different shades

Frankfurt:

Apart from the action on the field in Germany, there is lot more happening outside the field as well. It was a potentially an explosive situation when English fans took to the streets of Frankfurt in celebration of their team's 1-0 win over Paraguay on Saturday. But the police were prepared, dressed in protective riot gear in case the rowdy crowd turned violent. The bottle throwing by them forced the police to close some sections of the city's streets. Police later arrested two Germans who had been apparently taunting a crowd of English fans. Black magic Meanwhile, fans in Mexico have been praying for the success of their team as Mexico plays Iran in their first match of the World Cup. As crowds follow the matches on giant screens in Mexico City's central square, Zocalo a€" the witchcraft master - has set up a shrine of Santa Muerte, or Saint Death. The witchcraft master believes Santa Muerte will help Mexico to a win as a 12th player. The sprit, representing death, is widely worshipped in Mexico, and has in the past received many unusual gifts, including shots of tequila and burning cigarettes. Defy ban The frenzy created by the football Word Cup has led the fans in Somalia to defy the diktats of Islamist militiamen who have banned the screening of the World Cup matches. Fans in Mogadishu continued to watch matches on specially erected screens despite gunshots being fired in the air to disperse the crowd. Earlier, two people were wounded in demonstrations protesting the ban on the screening of the matches.