WORLD CUP USA ’94 / QUARTERFINALS : Spotlight : GROUNDED

The Dutch reporter who caused an international uproar by claiming he had a bomb in his computer as a chartered flight was about to take the Netherlands national team to Dallas, is not allowed to leave the country. Lex Muller of Rotterdam is in Dallas awaiting a decision by U.S. authorities, who are considering whether to charge him for his hoax. His newspaper, Alegmeen Dagblad, reportedly has recalled him.

It was the third incident involving the Dutch and reporters. When the Netherlands arrived in North America to prepare for the World Cup, its flight into Toronto was taken off course by about 40 miles because a reporter was using a computer during landing. Later, when the team was flying from Orlando to Washington, the plane had to make an emergency landing in Richmond, Va., because a reporter was suffering from indigestion.