JOHANNESBURG — Police say a South African man who wanted to watch a World Cup match instead of a religious program was beaten to death by his family.
David Makoeya, a 61-year-old man from the small village of Makweya, Limpopo province, fought with his wife and two children for the remote control Sunday because he wanted to watch Germany play Australia. The others, however, wanted to watch a gospel show.
“He said, ‘No, I want to watch soccer,’ ” police spokesman Mothemane Malefo said Thursday. “That is when the argument came about.”
Malefo said Makoeya got up to change the channel by hand after being refused the remote control and was attacked by his 68-year-old wife Francina and two children, 36-year-old son Collin and 23-year-old daughter Lebogang.
“It appears they banged his head against the wall,” Malefo said.
Footnotes.
Australia captain Tim Cahill will miss Saturday’s match against Ghana after FIFA confirmed his one-match ban for a red card.
• Serbia defender Neven Subotic, who played for U.S. youth national teams, will start today against Germany for the suspended Aleksandar Lukovic.
