International news organisations have rejected restrictions on media coverage of the 2006 World Cup soccer championships in Germany as a threat to press freedom.

Tournament organisers at the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) had ruled that the media would have to wait one hour after a match to publish photos online. It also limited how newspapers can publish photos and how many photos can be published. FIFA has offered to relax the timing rules but protesting news organisations dismissed the offer as “cosmetic changes”.