Brazilian striker Romario is so depressed he is taking valium and his behaviour is causing concern among his friends in Rio de Janeiro. "He can't relax and he can't sleep," said trainer and friend of 10 years Mauricio dos Santos.

Romario, excluded from the Brazilian squad for France '98 through a calf injury, believes he should have been retained and is fit to play. "Knowing that he is fit just makes him more depressed," said the player's physio Nilton Petrone. "It is eating him up." When Brazil dedicated their opening win over Scotland to their banished star, his depression just deepened, said dos Santos.

Love match on pitch

FIFA gave way to sentiment by allowing a love match to precede a football match on the pitch at Marseille's Stade Velodrome on Tuesday. An hour before Norway play Brazil in the World Cup, Norwegian Oivind Ekeland will marry Brazilian Rosangela de Souza on the pitch, with a catholic priest officiating and not a red card in sight.

SpokesmanKeith Cooper said FIFA had undergone a change of heart after initially rejecting their request. "We asked them not to tell the press because we didn't want a flood of similar requests, of Moroccans marrying Paraguayans and goodness knows what," he added.

Colour me orangeWhat do clothes tell about your national team? Quite a lot if you believe the analysis of a painter and a semiology specialist. At the request of the French Sports daily L'Equipe, the unidentified specialists in colours and symbols. The Dutch's traditional orange uniform got the best marks. The specialists agreed that orange is a good colour for confrontation. Mexico's Aztec design in green shades didn't go over as well with the jury. The Japanese blue jerseys were deemed OK, but it was said to lack some fighting spirit despite the red flame on the sleeves and socks. Croatia's white jersey with red-checkered pattern got the lowest marks from experts, mainly because it didn't seen very distinctive.

Jokers in the pack

Aftermore than one third of the tournament, Argentina and Iran are the only sides not to have had a single player booked. Chile are the worst yellow card offenders with seven of their squad already having gone in the referees' notebook. But the worst sinners are Denmark. They have collected six bookings and had two men sent off in the `Battle of Toulouse' against South Africa.

Ticket for touts

Belgium and Mexico fans fought a pre-match `battle' before the real thing in Bordeaux as they raced to snap up the last few tickets going for the game. But many lost out as the touts appeared to win the match. "We've only got 300 dollars and they want 500," said frustrated Mexican Adriana Maldonado, who had flown over specially from Monterrey. "Some people are willing to shell out 1,000 dollars, so that stops the prices falling," said Arturo Gomez.

Marseille goes Dutch

Residents of this port city had their leisurely lunches rudely interrupted by foul-mouthed and violent English supporters last weekendbut on Saturday there was nothing stronger than wisecracks with the white wine. Thousands of Dutch fans thronged the harbour area ahead of their team's clash with South Korea but they seemed more intent on lazing in the sun than baiting the locals.

No bars, no booze

French restaurateurs and English fans are fed up after Toulouse authorities decreed that the southern city's cafes and restaurants would have to shut at midnight rather than the customary 4 am. And on Sunday and Monday they must close at 11 pm. Up to 10,000 England fans were pouring in over the weekend for Monday's match against Romania.

Heat hits 100

About 100 fans were treated for heatstroke during the Belgium-Mexico match here on Saturday. A 57-year-old Belgian and 19-year-old Mexican were taken to hospital. The other fans were able to return home or to their hotels after treatment. Players lost between four and six kilos during the match because of the heat.

Mexican scoop

Mexico have landed in hot water withtheir media after signing an exclusive contract with television station Televisa. Other Mexican reporters following the team claim that Manuel Lapuente's men only say the bare minimum at press conferences before giving a more considered and loquacious view to Televisa.