Ferdinand tweet sparks food fight

Former England soccer star Rio Ferdinand has unwittingly sparked a cross-border food fight after suggesting that a rice dish was Singaporean, to the horror of Indonesians who claim it as their own.

Ferdinand made the food faux pas during a weekend trip to watch the Singapore Grand Prix, when he tweeted a picture of himself holding a plate of the dish next to the comment: "Nasi goreng lunch.. Keeping it local in #Singapore".

"Nasi goreng", which literally translates as "fried rice" in Indonesian, generally consists of rice mixed with a sweet sauce and other ingredients such as chilli, vegetables and chicken, and is often topped with a fried egg.