UEFA Accused Of ‘Manipulating’ Euro 2012 Live Footage, Balotelli Didn’t Really Make A German Lady Cry

Chris Wright

4th, July 2012

7 Comments

By Chris Wright

UEFA are to be flayed at the first light of dawn after being caught out splicing pre-recorded footage of a German fan crying into their live broadcast directly after Mario Balotelli had scored his second goal against Germany in the Euro 2012 semi-finals.

Immediately after Balotelli’s goal, the camera cut to a lady in the stands with tears streaming down her face – the only problem being that the emotional scene was recorded during the national anthems, during which she had become overawed with national pride.

UEFA’s jig was up when the woman, Andrea from Dusseldorf, began receiving e-mails from friends at home in Germany wondering why she was so distraught despite there being almost an hour left to play.

Asked to explain the debacle, UEFA told AP that it was “striving to show the human story of the game” and had “no aim whatsoever to exercise any form of control over the images delivered to broadcasters.”

They also claimed that the footage of the tearful Germany fan was shown “to translate the emotion and the tension of the German fans for this game, but that they’d issued specific instructions that the reaction footage not be used “directly in a chain of replays of a live action, to avoid any misleading understanding.”

Basically, it wasn’t their fault – though it wasn’t the first instance of such tinkering.

German broadcasters ARD first contacted UEFA over a similar incident where Jogi Löw was seen playfully poking a ball from under a ballboy’s arm halfway through Germany’s group game against Holland. ARD’s suspicions were piqued as they had noted the actual incident took place well before the game kicked off.

UEFA’s defence was that the editorial team used ‘relay wipes’ before and after the sequence, which apparently made it perfectly clear Jogi’s jape was not live.

LIES, LIES, ALL LIES!!! If we can’t trust TV anymore, then… oh, sweet Mother of Mercy! We’re doomed!

(Via SI.com)

Posted in Euro 2012, FAIL, Media

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7 Comments

  1. bear says:

    This happens on most stations. I remember the BBC did it; they showed Capello angrily reacting to something Gareth Barry did, on the shot showed Barry sitting behind him on the bench.

  2. Eckpfosten says:

    Simply media manipulation. Ban it!

  3. usrick says:

    Is anyone actually surprised that UEFA feels it appropriate to manipulate the game broadcasts? TV is just the tool – what can’t be trusted is UEFA. They seem to think that their primary responsibility is packaging the game as entertainment and promoting it to people who don’t normally follow it – the integrity and quality of the game are secondary to the money.

  4. daz says:

    i wondered why mr.low had time to be so joval and messing around with a ball kid during an actual match, now it makes sense.

    makes me wonder if those fit girls the cameras always find are actually uefa planted models.

  5. pray4muamba says:

    WAIT! HOLD ON!! UEFA LIED AND MANIPULATED SOMETHING?? HOW OUT OF CHARACTER! uefa better fine mario and the german lady quick!

  6. KingB3113 says:

    @Daz I’m starting to have my doubts too. I noticed that in two of Greece’s games they actually focused on the same blonde woman in both matches. And why is it that 90% of these stunners appear to be watching the game alone? (ie. No friends/boyfriends/family etc.)

  7. replayisokay says:

    if anybody would be interested in a real discussion,not only in reflex,the discussion would be useful.i do not know if somebody believes that for example-emotional replay of players,sampled together are not live…do not occure suddently at the same time,but are collected during a game,and then,if there is space during the actin,are streamed or played out.is there a difference?and if so what is the difference?

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