Strangest Story of the World Cup so far

There's always a few stories kicking about when something this big happens, but when FIFA forces thousands of Dutch supporters to watch a game in their underpants, you know it's a special one.

Apparently a rival brewer to Budweiser (Budweiser being the company that stumped up the cash to be an official sponsor) had a promotion earlier in the year offering cheap trousers in bright orange with a lions tale coming out of the back, and big pockets to hold beer in (I never said the Dutch were normal..). They also display the logo of Bavaria, a rival beer maker in Holland apparently (although I can't for the life of me think of which beer they make). So up steps FIFA, protecting the rights of the paying sponsor, to insist that the Dutch fans take off their trousers in order to get into the game. Rumours started that they were also confiscating Nike gear worn by fans (Adidas is another sponsor), but given that they'd also have to take away half of the strips the players wore, this was a little too far out, even for FIFA.

So boys and girls - be careful what you wear to the footie matches out there.

Guardian Unlimited Football | World Cup 2006 | The new World Cup rule: take off your trousers, they're offending our sponsor