EURO 2012 BRIEFS

AN Austrian betting rm has caused a minor uproar with a new ad campaign featuring a voodoo doll wearing the German ag. In the TV spot, a fan pricks a needle into the doll’s foot causing a German player to go down with an injury.

The campaign has sparked a wave of complaints on the website of the Austrian council on advertising, with fans — including many Germans living in Austria — describing it as ‘openly racist’, ‘inciting violence,’ ‘tasteless and dumb’, ‘xenophobic’ and ‘completely inappropriate’. Austria and Germany have a notorious sports rivalry, but it is generally more light-hearted with encounters between the two countries always well attended.