BERLIN, Jan. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Peter Danckert, chairman of the German parliamentary committee for sport, on Wednesday urged the government and World Cup organisers to address stadium safety concerns raised by a top consumer protection group.

    "It's five months until the World Cup. You cannot argue about who is right or wrong. If there is an accident, that won't be of interest to anyone," told Reuters.

    Stiftung Warentest, respected throughout Germany for its consumer product tests, locked horns with World Cup organisers on Tuesday after it released a report saying a stadium stampede or a fire could result in fatalities.

    The World Cup, which Germany is hosting, kicks off on June 9, with the final in Berlin on July 9.

    "We need to act. I propose that everybody get together very soon," Danckert said, adding he could envisage a round table including interior and transport ministry officials, World Cup organisers and stadium representatives.

    "We need to address these issues in a matter of weeks... We cannot have a discussion lasting months."

    Stiftung Warentest said four stadiums in particular -- Kaiserslautern, Leipzig, Gelsenkirchen and final venue Berlin -- had grave failings.

    Crowd panic at the latter three, it argued, could be fatal as there were no exits onto the pitch.

    Kaiserslautern, where cracks were discovered in a stand last month, was a fire hazard, with a press area on a wooden podium and a lack of alarms on sprinklers in a stand, Stiftung Warentest concluded.

    World Cup organisers argue that most stadiums are instead designed to steer people outside in an emergency and say that construction at Kaiserslautern has not been completed.

    Danckert said it appeared that the stadiums had been aware of Stiftung Warentest's findings for some time, but had not forwarded the information to the World Cup organisers.

    The stadiums, who sanctioned the consumer group's visits, say German authorities had already given them green lights.

    "You wonder how extensively the building authorities looked at the stadiums," Danckert said.

    Franz Beckenbauer, head of Germany's World Cup organising committee, criticised Stiftung Warentest on Monday, saying it should stick to testing consumer items such as olive oil, face creams and vacuum cleaners.

    "I'm really sick and tired of the army of know-it-alls trying to lift their profile at the expense of the World Cup," he said. Enditem