Saturday, October 07, 2006

World Cup Controversery: Replica or Fraud ??

The  ANNOTICO Report

Anheuser-Busch was supposedly parading the authentic World Cup trophy won by Italy in July, through Boston's North End.

But, now many are claiming a Fraud. There are several versions.

One is that the Trophy Cup IS Actually the Replica that Italy will Keep, since the real trophy goes back to FIFA headquarters in Switzerland.

Another version is that it is the Replica trophy that will go to the winning team in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa

 

World Cup in Boston unmasked as a copy

Boston GlobeBrian  Ballou

 October 7, 2006

It turned out to be a pauper in shiny prince's clothing, hoisted by gloved hands above the ebullient masses and kissed by important decision-makers.

The World Cup trophy purported by beer-maker Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. to be the authentic article won by Italy in July drew oohs and aahs among proud Italian-Americans in the North End on Wednesday, and in Chelsea, Framingham, and Revere on Thursday.

But yesterday, Anheuser-Busch said it was the trophy that will go to the winning team in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The deception, reported yesterday by the Boston Herald, drew angst and anger from politicians and fans who paid $5 to get a photo taken with it. ``How could a national corporation like Budweiser be in a scam like this?" asked Mayor Thomas M. Menino . ``I'm going to write them a nasty letter this afternoon. Why would they do this to the public?"

Company officials apologized for ``any misunderstanding" and said they ``regret any embarrassment" caused to civic leaders, Boston-area residents, and local Anheuser-Busch officials. They also pledged to donate proceeds from the photos to charity, to match those proceeds with a donation from the company, and to cover any city costs.

The F?d?ration Internationale de Football Association World Cup trophy is in Italy, said Maurizio Pasquale of Italy's consulate in Boston.

 

SLAM! Sports

Friday, October 6, 2006

 

BOSTON (AP) - The FIFA World Cup trophy paraded through Boston's North End in tribute to Italy's championship, but there was one problem: It really wasn't the trophy.

Mayor Thomas Menino kissed the trophy, and fans waited hours in line to have a $5 picture taken with the trophy when it was brought to the city's heavily Italian neighbourhood Tuesday. But the trophy, which Anheuser-Busch is touring around the country, is a gold-plated replica of the actual 18-karat, 14-inch multimillion-dollar gold dome created by Italian artist Silvio Gazzaniga.

Italy won this summer's World Cup in a penalty-kick shootout with France.

"I guess we were duped," Nick Varano, owner of Strega restaurant, told the Boston Herald. "We were told it was the actual World Cup, the solid gold World Cup. I'm sick over it."

Tony Ponturo, a spokesman for Anheuser-Busch, said the replica is just as important in Italy as the original. The replica will go back to Italy to be kept as a symbol of its victory.

The real trophy goes back to FIFA headquarters in Switzerland.

The tour of the replica also includes stops at St. Louis, New York, Miami, Chicago and Washington.

 

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