- The story of female volleyball fans in Iran was covered by many sites, including France24. “[T]hese sporting events are only for male eyes, since the ‘morality police’ — a special police force that seeks to fight ‘moral corruption’ and to combat those who violate Islamic law — have been systematically preventing women from attending volleyball tournaments since 2005. However, this prohibition does not apply to foreign women.” While some women were able to get into games with the aid of foreign fans and by wearing the other team’s jerseys, 50 women were arrested for attempting entry. As one woman said, “I don’t want to have to resort to ruses in order to support my team. I want to be able to walk into a sports stadium proud of my identity as an Iranian woman and a fan of my national team.”
- The Korea Times reported on how Korean fans making subtitles were being sued by U.S. drama producers. “Police are now questioning the 15 who were booked without physical detention. Investigators said they made Korean subtitles of American television dramas and movies without getting prior consent from the original producers and circulated their translations among Internet users through large online cafes. A police officer said on condition of anonymity that U.S. television drama producers tend not to exercise their copyrights if individual citizens violate the law. But, he said, the U.S. producers took legal action against illegal subtitle makers as they believed that the violators circulated their subtitles rapidly through the Internet and as a result the original producers experienced negative fallout on their earnings.”
- The Telegraph India talked with fans about their World Cup passions and which countries they supported. “Germany’s clinical 7-1 demolition of Brazil not just reignited the clash of continents at the Fifa World Cup but also confirmed that Calcutta has diversified its allegiance. Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, England, France and Italy now evoke equal passion among the city’s football faithful as the traditional Selecao and La Albicileste.” Part of this difference is generational and star driven but “[w]hile age is a rough line of division that splits loyalties, it is not a watertight one. Families too apparently help shape who supports whom.”
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