Apology over WCup manual

The head of the Argentine Football Association has apologized for the publication of a World Cup manual that included advice on how to woo Russian women.

The advice — condemned as sexist — was part of a course entitled ‘Language and Russian Culture — Thinking of the World Cup’ and included the tips, “Be clean, Don’t be negative and Don’t treat women as objects”.

“An internal investigation ... concluded that part of the material was printed in error. It does not reflect the thinking of the AFA, nor its president Claudio Tapia, nor any of its directors,” the association said in a statement.

Tapia visited Russia House, a cultural institute, in Buenos Aires on Wednesday to personally apologize for the gaffe. Reports said the information had been presented to players, AFA staff and media earlier this week.