What's the score, Leon?

You might have been wondering where Canto-pop star Leon Lai Ming, Sony's 'voice' of the World Cup, was during the semi-finals and the final. So were the honchos at Cable TV, Hong Kong's official broadcaster of the competition, which is seeking legal advice as to whether Lai breached an agreement by not appearing at the Go! Go! Goal! party on Sunday night.

Lai (below) was appointed by his record company Sony Music to sing the official Chinese World Cup song Charged Up, which became an instant hit despite its decidedly unsporty chorus 'Lay your, lay your love on me'. And since the television rights to the competition were bought by Cable TV, Lai was recruited - in an apparent deal between Sony and Cable - to appear at the network's promotional events, acting as an ambassador for the cup.

TVB, the station that discovered and nurtured the Canto king, was rumoured to be upset by Lai's appearance on the rival network, and the video clip for Charged Up never graced TVB screens. Instead, Canto-pop star Hacken Lee, who hosted Jade's World Cup coverage, was recruited to sing TVB's own theme, Victory.

A spokeswoman from Cable TV confirmed the station had hired lawyers to investigate but she refused to disclose further details.

Joseph Chan, Lai's manager, said he did not know about the details because the deal with Cable TV was arranged through Lai's record company.

Sony declined to comment last night.