World Cup 2018: Argentina FA sorry over flirting manual

The Argentine Football Association has scored an own goal by handing journalists heading to the World Cup in Russia a manual with a chapter about “how to stand a chance with a Russian girl”.

The advice in the handbook, given out to reporters, players and coaches during a free course about the Russian culture, includes: “Make sure you’re clean, smell good and dress well.”

Russian woman “don’t like to be seen as objects”, the guide says, adding: “Because Russian women are beautiful many men only want to sleep with them... the advice is to treat the woman in front of you as if she is someone of value.” 

The so-called flirting manual has caused an “outcry” on social media, with the national football assocation, or AFA, criticised for its “sexist” depiction of Russian women, the BBC reports.

The AFA released a statement on Wednesday insisting that the material was included accidentally and that it does not represent the views of the federation.

‘‘An internal investigation... concluded that part of the material was printed in error,’’ said the statement.

‘‘[The manual] does not reflect the thinking of the AFA, nor its president, Claudio Tapia, nor any of its directors.’’

Tapia visited Russia House, a cultural institute, in Buenos Aires on Wednesday to personally apologise for the gaffe. 

The incident comes just months after thousands of activists marched through the streets of the city to protest against “rampant sexism and demanding an end to violence against women”, says the BBC.

The flirting advice was reportedly taken from a blog about Russian women, adds The Sydney Morning Herald.