Bavaria charges dropped

Charges have been dropped against two Dutch women accused of ambush marketing at the World Cup over their orange dresses, the law firm Bowman Gilfillan, says.

"The State just withdrew the charges", said spokesman Darren Olivier.

He did not elaborate on the grounds on which Barbara Castelein and Mirte Nieuwpoort were let off.

The two were arrested last week after they and dozens of other women stripped down to orange mini-dresses during the soccer match between Denmark and the Netherlands, allegedly to market the Dutch brewery, Bavaria.

While all the women were questioned, only Castelein and Nieuwpoort were arrested.

They appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Wednesday on charges under the SA Merchandise Marks Act. Their passports were taken away and they were granted bail of R10,000 each.

Fifa accused them of being sent to orchestrate an ambush marketing campaign as Bavaria was not an official World Cup sponsor.