World Cup - 2026

[zorkan]

https://thesun.my/sports/football/new-world-cup-rules-hydration-breaks-and-var-changes/

VAR means you can be offside by a toenail or even a hair.
Now, every corner will have to be checked.
I can see games lasting for up to 2 hours when the VAR and water breaks are taken into account.
There will be a record number of yellow cards for time wasting.

Fans won't know whether to celebrate a goal or not.
Even if the referee is satisfied with a score, he can still get a message in the ear to consult the dreaded VAR screen.
Almost certainly then the goal will be disallowed.

So, plenty of opportunities now for commercial breaks will please American broadcasters but not Europeans.
I'm old enough to remember when football was an exciting free-flowing game for players and spectators alike.
We should adopt the example of the Swedish league and kick out the VAR.

[Recusant]

This World Cup seems more surreal to me than previous ones because it's taking place mostly within the US, which is currently dysfunctional in a number of ways. This is thanks to the mad king Trump and his goons, but they're just part of it. Multiple organizations issuing a travel warning about going to the goddam USA for the Cup? Just astounding. If you do go though, watch out for the robot dogs. A practiced author of dystopian fiction would be hard put to top all this stuff.

"FIFA to Deploy Robot Dogs to Beef Up World Cup Security" | Daily Beast

Four robot dogs are about to start prowling FIFA World Cup sites in Dallas and New Jersey using cameras for eyes. Hyundai and the robotics firm Boston Dynamics built the four-legged machines to help secure security for the tournament, which kicks off across the U.S., Canada and Mexico on June 11. The manufacturers have named all the anamatronics "Spot," for reasons best known to them. Two will be stationed at the World Cup's International Broadcast Center in Dallas and two at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The bots use onboard cameras to see and will flag potential threats to the officers monitoring them, FIFA says. The rollout has already spooked some online. After a viral clip claimed the dogs scanned fans' faces, Boston Dynamics pushed back. "The robots do not have facial recognition capabilities," a spokesperson said. They are one piece of a vast operation. More than 30 agencies are coordinating on North Texas' security plan, with undercover and uniformed officers and tight FAA drone restrictions on match days.

[billy rubin]

its very clear where this is all going.

[zorkan]

Says video unavailable.

I'm also looking forward to seeing the robodogs.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/39327669/world-cup-robot-security-dog/

Let's hope they don't invade the pitch.
Give them a red card and send them to the naughty corner if they do.

[zorkan]

Some fans and officials have been refused entry into the USA.
What's going to happen if USA have to play Iran?
Will Trump revoke their visas and USA win the game by default?
They could potentially meet in the Round of 32.

Just hours away now from the start of the biggest money grab in sporting history.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/09/world-cup-2026-visa-restrictions-referee-omar-artan-iran-officials

[zorkan]

Memo to football USA style.

Dating back to 1866, football has been a game of 90 minutes comprising 2 halves, each lasting 45 minutes.
An American commentator yesterday was heard to say "That's the end of the 3rd quarter."
A reference to the hydration breaks so that ads can be shown to break up the flow of the game.
If a player is injured then just how long does it take for players to be handed a drink from the side line?
A few seconds.

Football as a modern game was first played and codified on dark winter fields in the north of England.
Within 30 miles was formed the oldest club in the world Sheffield FC, the oldest surviving league club Notts County, and Mansfield Town who still play at the first ever professional football ground.

It is not a game of 4 quarters, each lasting 22.5 minutes, It's one of 2 halves of 45 minutes.

[Recusant]

Memo to football USA style.

Dating back to 1866, football has been a game of 90 minutes comprising 2 halves, each lasting 45 minutes.
An American commentator yesterday was heard to say "That's the end of the 3rd quarter."

That's inexcusable. That dolt was being paid (no doubt rather well) and you'd think he'd make an effort to have a grasp of the basics of the sport.


I honestly don't know whether previous World Cups have had the sort of problem described below. From what I gather, the ticket resale market is particularly powerful in North America as opposed to Europe or elsewhere.

Throughout this euphoric, dramatic World Cup series, which has brought domestic and international tourists to North American cities from Vancouver all the way down to Monterrey, there has been one unfortunate motif: fans unable to access the pricey tickets that they purchased in advance, whether through StubHub or SeatGeek or FIFA's official ticketing platform. Many of the aggrieved fans I spoke with had chosen StubHub in particular, as it commands a larger share of the customer-to-customer resale market and represents a chance, at least, to get something cheaper than what FIFA would allow. Or so it seemed, until they finally tried it for themselves and saw their purchases disappear altogether.

[source]

[zorkan]

Turns into a scammers' paradise.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotland-fans-left-devastated-cruel-37343815

I don't suppose greedy FIFA will refund any money to the devastated fans.

[zorkan]

Next for England is Mexico, but probably only after scenes like this from a section of their fans from outside Ecuador's hotel.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BnXrSSSKt7M

Well done to Cape Verde, nearly bringing off the biggest world cup shock ever against the holders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNomjgxfrPU

[Recusant]

It's reported that Trump called the FIFA president to get a red card issued to a US player (Balogun) overturned. Yeah that's a good look for all concerned.

[billy rubin]

what it means is that no matter how well the us does, any football victory will be tainted as having been fixed.

there is a telling consistency with trump, though. trump is always focused on the prize, not on the process. possessing the title is all that matters-- deserving to possess thetitle is irrelevant. this is easily seen in his pride in possessing the latest nobel peace prize medal, even though the prize itself was awarded to someone else. to him, or look at how a fat 80 year old man keeps winning golf tournaments at his personal golf clubs. possessing the gilded cup is what matters, not having earned the achievement.

so keeping the american player in the compettion is what is important, not following the rules of the game. a legitimate victory is no different than an illegitimate one, in trumps eyes

its strange to an adult man so clueless about so many things, but at least we re only a blood clot away from being rid of him./

[zorkan]

Precedent Trump's actions backfired as it spurred Belgium on to victory.
Give him the red card.

However, I now expect Starmer to get England's red card rescinded from the game against Mexico.
https://metro.co.uk/2026/07/06/keir-starmer-colleague-suggests-pm-may-intervene-england-stars-red-card-29061470/

Just a bit of background here.
The system of red cards started when certain players deliberately appeared to want to injure the opposition.
In England, among others we had 'Chopper' Harris (Chelsea) and Norman 'bites yer legs' Hunter (Leeds United).

While some might deem a challenge just to be mistimed, it helps to keep players safe from injury and potentially career ending.

I guess you will never keep football out of politics and even religion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football_and_politics

In Glasgow there is protestant Rangers and catholic Celtic.
Quite a rumpus once when Celtic signed a protestant player, even though their greatest manager (Jock Stein) was a protestant.

[Recusant]

Trump has an affinity for dishonest people, demonstrated by going out of his way to issue presidential pardons to a wide array of swindlers and grifters. His impulse to cheat and game the system came to the fore in leaning on the infamously corrupt Infantino to meddle with the red card. It was good to see his flabby strongarm tactics fail to produce the result on the pitch that he was hoping for.

[zorkan]

Trump and England striker Harry Kane appear to be a mutual admiration society.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c8e2z97rp4xo

England play today against Norway in the quarter finals.
Unlike previous tournaments I've seen little enthusiasm for England.
Used to see flags on buildings and cars, outdoor screens, people talking.
Now, nearly all gone.
Maybe folk have realised that supporting them is just a triumph of hope over experience.