The federal cabinet on Wednesday amended the German law regulating noise at sporting events, the Sportanlagenlärmschutzverordnung, in preparation for the soccer World Cup in summer 2006. The amendment paved the way for soccer matches to be held during the evenings as well as during the day. The law as it stood could have prevented games from being played after 10 p.m. due to the racket. Government spokesperson Thomas Steg explained that the law had been changed to prevent games from being cut off before they were through.