Leading German politicians Sunday called on employers to give their employees a pause next Tuesday when German football team plays the FIFA World Cup semifinal with South Korean team.
"The football fans want to continue their fever and the employers should take it to heart and allow them to," said Kurt Beck, minister-president of Rhineland-Palatinate, to "Bild am Sonntag".
Secretary-General of the Christian Democratic Union Laurenz Meyer told the newspaper: "After all, Germany is not all year long with the semifinal of the World Cup. I hope that employers and employees could find flexible possibilities so that as many as possible could watch the game."
Spokesman of Allianz Insurance Co. Oliver Santen said several conference rooms have been arranged for football fans of the company.
A spokeswoman of Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea in Germany said some warehouses have been reconstructed to "WM-stadiums".
"TV-sets are on the shelves for customers and my colleagues to watch the goals," she said.
But employees who work for automobile groups Volkswagen and Daimler Chrysler have to change their shift to watch the game because the companies will not arrange pause for the game.
German football team beat the United States on Friday with 1:0 in a quarterfinal game.
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