A father has said he refuses to send a son to school when their team is playing in the World Cup.
As World Cup fever spreads, one man has said he and his football mad son are so excited to watch their team, Argentina, play - he won't be attending school when they take to the pitch.
The dad sent his school a letter explaining the five-year-old boy's absence from school after the child asked to watch every Argentina fixture.
Sunil Kumar, who works at an electrical shop in Kozhikode, initially told his son to ask his teacher, at the Govindapuram UP school.
He then urged her to permit his absence in the letter, writing: "He is an ardent football fan, especially Argentina.
"It's from last year's World Cup, that he was gripped by the football fever. From last week onwards, he was saying that he would sit at home to watch the game of his favourite team.
"Last Friday, he had come to me saying he wants a leave letter. I told him that I will pick him up from school by 1pm and will make some arrangements to bring him back home. But he didn't agree to that. He wanted me to write the letter," said Sunil to a regional news portal.
"He came in the morning with pen and paper for me to write it down and that is how I ended up writing it."
The teacher then reportedly responded by saying the boy's absence was the parents' responsibility, reports This Week.
However other parents have slammed schools when it comes to prioritising showing games.
One mum has been left furious over her kid's school's decision to air the first England game - which has a 1 pm kick-off - to pupils, as she believes it is inappropriate given the host country's human rights record.
Qatar bans same-sex sexual activity and those found guilty can face long prison sentences or even the death penalty, and an estimated 6,500 migrants have died constructing the seven new stadiums used in the tournament.
The mum believes it's "wrong" for her child's school to show support for the World Cup, and has slammed their decision to make the event on Monday a non-uniform day, where they will be asked to bring a donation for Amnesty International in exchange for wearing "team colours".
Instead, the woman said it would be better for the school to not show the game and to make sure children learn exactly why they are not supporting the event.
In a post on Mumsnet, she said: "I had an email from my child's school this week regarding the World Cup. The council have decided that they want to celebrate the World Cup so will be allowing the first game to be shown in school for everyone to watch.
"They added that because of the human rights concerns with the host nation, they would ask the kids to wear their football kits or team colours and bring in a donation for Amnesty International.
"Am I being unreasonable to think this is wrong? If they are concerned about human rights issues, then surely boycotting the World Cup and not showing the game is the best thing to do? Very happy to donate to Amnesty, but I still think allowing the game to be shown is a mistake.
"I say this as a football fan who looks forward to and watches the World Cup, but won't be this time."
