Toronto, June 27 (DPA) Sportsmanship was the winner Sunday as the leaders of Britain and Germany broke away from a summit of the world’s most important politicians to watch Germany thrash England 4-1 in the World Cup.
Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron left a working session at the Group of 20 (G-20) summit in Toronto in order to watch a second half in which Germany took England ruthlessly apart.
Cameron ‘congratulated us, of course. It was a very good sporting atmosphere, and I hope the other leaders will forgive us for not being there in the second half’, Merkel said after the game.
Moreover, the English-language-only commentary stood out for its fairness because it praised the ‘German wall’ of defence and the country’s ‘exemplary’ game plan, she said.
The game risked descending into controversy shortly after the half-hour, as a clear refereeing error deprived England of an equaliser. But in the second half, Germany took England to pieces with two more goals, leaving no doubt as to who was the better team.
‘Everything went right with their heads and their feet… It was a great game and a great victory,’ Merkel said.
It is hardly standard etiquette for national leaders to leave the table of power groups such as the G20 to watch football. But hosts Canada appeared to have got into the sportsmanlike mood in a bid to prevent any possible embarrassment.
The Merkel-Cameron football session was officially labelled as a ‘bilateral meeting’ on the summit programme – something at which no leader could complain.
The one-sided result also prevented a possible diplomatic incident, as Cameron had warned before the game that the tension might be too much for him if the game went to penalties.
‘I will try not to wrestle (Merkel) to the ground during penalties, but we will have to see,’ he said in an interview with British TV station ITV.
