Intro:

FIFA rejected claims at a news conference in Brazil on Monday (7th July) that referees had been instructed to be lenient with fouls to provide a more entertaining tournament.

Script:

SOUNDBITE: (English) Walter de Gregorio, FIFA Director of Communications:

"But I just want to make it clear - this is affecting our core business. We have to protect the players, they are the main actors and if - coming back to the Neymar case - if Neymar is not playing the semi final and the final, it is not good for us too. I mean we would love to see him playing - so how can you say this is intentionally made by FIFA to let the entertainment take his own path?"

SOUNDBITE: (German) Walter de Gregorio, FIFA Director of Communications:

"That is a bankruptcy for every journalist. Because in other words it means: Whatever is being said, whatever the facts are - I'll close my eyes, I'll close my ears because I know the truth. This (BILD) article suggests that there is secret plan, a secret plan of FIFA. Massimo Busacca is being quoted as the head of referees. And it is suggested that he said to his referees 'let the game carry on because that is good for the spectacle'. And in other words, as I said before in English, 'we take the risk of injuries, even serious injuries of players.' So what does this mean? Well that means, that we are even satisfied when a player like Neymar is not participating in the World Cup anymore because we rate the spectacle higher than the health of the players. Well, there are different opinions on that as well. "