World Cup 2010 Minidress Models Controversy and Harassment
Dutch women dressed in sexy orange minidress storms the World Cup 2010 audience seats. They wave, they shout and they made a scene. After all their fun they end up being question and arrested by South African police.
Johannesburg police arrested two women for their alleged role in the minidress rampage at the World Cup 2010 match between Netherlands vs Denmark. The beer company sent more than 30 women in orange minidresses to advertise in behalf of the beer company.
This controversy also resulted in the removal of ITV pundit Robbie Earle from his job. He had been identified as the one that passed the ticket for the said game. Earle denies that he had received any payment from the said action. "Call me naive but I didn't think I was doing anything wrong," says Earle. "I hope when people hear the full story they will see me in a different light."
During the game itself, thirty-six sexily dressed Dutch women were forced out of Soccer City and held in a FIFA office for several hours for wearing an outfit designed by a Dutch beer company.
The body-hugging orange mini-dress, known as the Dutchy dress, was part of a gift pack bought with Bavaria beer in Holland as part of the build-up to the World Cup. The beer company manager says that there is no branding on the dresses, that is why they are shocked with what happened. However, the reality is that these dresses are well known part of Bavaria beer in Holland in which no branding is required.
"It's a nice dress. Very fashionable. In my opinion, people should have the right to wear whatever they want," Swinkels said. "We launched the orange item on April 30 on the queen's birthday, which we call Queen's Day. The Dutch people are a little crazy about orange and we wear it on public holidays and events like the World Cup."
However, FIFA despite not pressing charges on the beer company Bavaria says the stunt is part of an ambush-marketing campaign it would not allow at matches. The official beer of the FIFA games is Budweiser. Budweiser paid millions of dollars for this recognition.
"We were sitting near the front, making a lot of noise, and the cameras kept focusing on us," Kastein said. "We were singing songs and having a good time." Kastein said a FIFA official came up to her and told her she was not allowed to wear the dress because it was from Bavaria, and the women had a choice: leave the stadium voluntarily or they would be forced to leave. She told the official she would not leave as she saw nothing wrong with wearing the dress.
"In the second half, about 40 stewards surrounded us and forced us to leave the stadium. They pushed us up the stairs, and one of the girls fell." Outside the stadium, Kastein said, the group were taken to a FIFA office and interrogated us about the dress for several hours.
"The police came and kept on asking us the same questions over and over, asking if we worked for Bavaria. They said we were ambush-marketing and it was against the law in South Africa. They said we would be arrested and would stay in jail for six months. Girls were crying. It was bad." Kastein said 34 women were held for more than three hours before being let go. She and another woman were held for a few more hours.
"A police van took us back to our hotel and they wanted my passport. They made a copy and said they would investigate. They said they would sue me. All of this for wearing an orange dress."
