World Cup fans in Bangladesh riot after power cuts

Hundreds of angry football fans smashed vehicles in the Bangladeshi capital after power outages interrupted live TV broadcasts of a World Cup match, police said today.

Updated on: Jun 13, 2010, 17:54:21 IST

AP | By HT Correspondent, Dhaka

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Hundreds of angry football fans smashed vehicles in the Bangladeshi capital after power outages interrupted live TV broadcasts of a World Cup match, police said on Sunday.

The violence erupted late on Saturday when the blackouts hit Dhaka's southern Saidabad district just before the match between Argentina and Nigeria, said police official Mohammad Moniruzzaman. He said nearly 200 youths- many of them armed with iron rods- joined the rampage and blocked roads for several hours. No one was injured, he said.

Impoverished Bangladesh suffers from frequent power outages, but authorities say they are trying to reduce blackouts, especially during World Cup matches.

Football is the most popular sport in Bangladesh after cricket, even though the South Asian nation has never qualified for any major international football tournament.

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