BANGKOK (Reuters) - Buddhist monks in Thailand are too tired to receive early morning alms because they are staying up late to watch the World Cup, a Thai newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Nation quoted a woman in the northern city of Chiang Mai who said her birthday celebrations were ruined because monks at a city temple were not awake to receive her morning offering, a mandatory religious ritual in the predominately Buddhist country.

The woman, who declined to be identified, said she was told by a senior monk that most of his young colleagues were still asleep because they had stayed up to watch the games which can go on well past midnight.

The Sangha Council, which oversees the tens of thousands of Buddhist temples in Thailand, has not banned monks from watching the World Cup but said it should not interfere with religious activities.

Chiang Mai chief monk Phra Thep Wisuthikhun said he had received complaints about "inappropriate behavior" at seven temples in the province. "It is the duty of the abbot of each temple to supervise the behavior of young monks, making sure that their religious activities will not be affected by the games," he told Reuters.

In neighboring Cambodia, some 40,000 monks have been warned they could be defrocked if they became too excited while watching the games.

"If they make noise or cheer as they watch, they will lose their monkhood," Phnom Penh patriarch Non Nget told Reuters this month.

Source: Reuters

I really respect these Monks, as a none socer country Australia has moved into the top 16 soccer countries this Wold cup, or so our commentators tell us and yes it is a game that is addictive to watch. I have found myself staying up all night watching games, or until i fall asleep while watching and i am a diehard AFL dude.

But to remain emotionless while watching a game is a test of endurance cos i cant help abuse the poor calls and continual exagerated acting we see some from teams.

:shock:

los Wrote:But to remain emotionless while watching a game is a test of endurance cos i cant help abuse the poor calls and continual exagerated acting we see some from teams.

:shock:

los, what did you think about this then, between Australia and Croatia last night? English referee Poll`s mistake meant a Croatian player who received 2 yellows wasn`t given the red card so he stayed on the pitch.

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Fifa president Sepp Blater has said that English referee Graham Poll must not be excused for his yellow card blunder during the game between Australia and Croatia in Stuttgart last night.

Poll, 42, failed to send off Croatian defender Josip Simunic after booking him for the second time in the dying minutes of the 2-2 draw which sent Australia through to round two.

Only when a third yellow card was shown, at the very end of the game, was Simunic dismissed.

Poll, one of the most experienced and respected officials at the World Cup, could lose out on officiating further matches if, as is likely, Fifa look down on his performance.

"I place my trust in the referees committee," said Blatter. "I think they have enough tact to deal with this case.

"We should not forget that Graham Poll in this previous matches achieved fantastic things.

"Of course, we cannot excuse it but we should understand it."

Blatter said he did not expect "total perfection" from referees but he was aghast that none of the four officials had spotted the error.

"I have to say I'm not surprised about the reaction," he said. "We have had four officials and what is not understandable is that nobody intervened.

"I can't understand - it's like a black-out. That's why I say we are all human beings.

"There are people there and one of them should have intervened and run on to the field and said, 'Stop, stop'."

However, Fifa themselves seem to be at odds with what happened.

Match statistics, published on the official World Cup site, indicated only two of Simunic's three cautions. The second card, shown in the 90th minute, was omitted.

But it is thought that Simunic's first card, shown in the 61st minute following a foul on Harry Kewell, was under scrutiny after the match.

Poll, who must file his own report on the game, now awaits the judgement of Fifa's referees committee to learn if his World Cup is over.