# FIFA World Cup 2026 - discussion etc **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-soccer-fifa\ **Created:** [October 14, 2025, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962 "2025-10-14T15:43:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/301 "2026-04-23T10:37:17Z")
Which game? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/302 "2026-04-23T10:56:22Z")
Round of 32 knockout. If Germany wins their group, that’s where they go… it’s less than 15 minutes from my house under normal circumstances, I’m willing to gamble (or possibly see some other interesting game). ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/303 "2026-04-23T12:39:19Z")
Particularly if you are Hispanic, brown, or worse brown _and_ Hispanic. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/304 "2026-04-23T12:50:52Z")
You would think that FIFA couldn’t get more corrupt, but Trump took that as a challenge. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/305 "2026-04-23T16:07:29Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Apologies to everyone for supporting the vile corrupt regime. By which of course you mean FIFA. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/306 "2026-04-23T22:45:54Z")
Good for them. > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I guess this is the thread I should have mentioned this, not the **[omnibus football](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-world-football-thread-2020-2022-edited/918264/1794)** thread. Sorry for the double link: > “Italy’s possible re-qualification for the 2026 World Cup … is firstly, not possible and secondly, not appropriate,” Sports Minister Andrea Abodi told Sky News. “I don’t know what comes first. Qualification is on the pitch.” [Italy rejects ‘shameful’ idea to replace Iran at World Cup - ESPN](https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/48571163/italy-replacing-iran-world-cup-not-appropriate-sports-minister) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/307 "2026-04-23T22:59:41Z")
Who would have tought that the Italians would be so fair? Good for them! ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/308 "2026-04-23T23:01:38Z")
Let’s face it, it was an easy decision for them. If they had showed any interest in taking Iran’s place, they would have lost their face and any standing in international football. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/309 "2026-04-23T23:02:46Z")
Yep. (and five characters for the system) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/310 "2026-04-28T22:18:02Z")
Covering your mouth while confronting an opponent will get you a red at the WC. I can actually get behind that. [Players at World Cup who cover their mouths in confrontations to receive red cards - The Athletic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7237831/2026/04/28/world-cup-mouth-covering-red-card/?unlocked_article_code=1.eVA.VzIK.M0o_rTPjNKcU&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta) ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/311 "2026-04-28T22:49:40Z")
I don’t like it, to what extent are we going to micromanage player interactions? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/312 "2026-04-28T22:58:09Z")
If you cover your mouth to hide that you are insulting someone in a racist or otherwise bigoted way, you are not only a bigot, but also a coward. So let’s cut that shit. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/313 "2026-04-28T23:09:45Z")
So you come to me to say something you don’t want the world to see, (players regularly cover their mouths to speak to avoid lip reading), I accuse you of an racist insult, instant red card, my team now has one player more than yours. The problem is not the intent of the measure, I agree with it, the problem is the interpretation and implementation problems it brings with it. Instead of playing we’ll get more and more chicanery, what constitues “a confrontation”? was the player covering his mouth to cough or to speak? can that hand gesture be interpreted as “covering the mouth”?. One of football greatest strenghts is the simplicity of the rules (except for offides), stop undermining that. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/314 "2026-04-28T23:12:23Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > So you come to me to say something you don’t want the world to see, (players regularly cover their mouths to speak to avoid lip reading), I accuse you of an racist insult, instant red card, my team now has one player more than yours. There’s no accusation involved here. Simply cover your mouth when talking to an opposing player, red card. Very easy to apply. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/315 "2026-04-28T23:14:10Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > One of football greatest strenghts is the simplicity of the rules (except for offides), stop undermining that. Oh, the simplicity of the rules. I believed in this myth myself for decades, but then the rules for handball (in the box) got changed, and then two years later again, and then got reinterpreted another time, and so on. Then came VAR, and instead of getting rid of any doubts about offsides, the rule got more complicated again. I don’t believe in simplicity of the rules any more. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2026, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/316 "2026-04-29T01:33:48Z")
That’s not what the you said the rule says: > [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Covering your mouth **while confronting an opponent** bold mine. If the rule is simply banning covering your mouth when speaking… it’s less idiotic but still idiotic. Players are used to do it, not to insult but just to talk without millions of people knowing what they said, someone is going to forget the rule and get red carded idiotically. What’s next? forbidding speaking into a rival’s ear? forbidding speaking into a teammate’s ear while looking at a rival? I don’t think the benefits (I guess some racist idiot is going to have to find another way to be a racist idiot, and they will because they are endlessly inventive) outweigh the costs (more and more rules telling the players what they can do outside the sport’s basic rules). So now: The goalkeeper can’t talk to his rivals in the penalties because some poor soul was traumatized by Dibu Martinez. Players cannot talk privately among themselves, in case someone says a racist thing to another. It’s not the end of the sport by all means, but I don’t have to like the proliferation of unnecesary rules. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/317 "2026-05-04T22:02:42Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > The only way they will ever listen is if/when people vote with their feet and don’t attend. [Kansas City isn’t seeing the demand they were expecting.](https://www.kctv5.com/2026/04/28/kansas-city-hotels-airport-still-waiting-world-cup-booking-rush/) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/318 "2026-05-07T18:42:59Z")
Nobody is! > **[New Report Warns World Cup Hotel Boom May Fall Short of Expectations | AHLA](https://www.ahla.com/news/new-report-warns-world-cup-hotel-boom-may-fall-short-expectations)** ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/319 "2026-05-07T18:58:40Z")
I wonder why… ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/320 "2026-05-08T23:35:22Z")
[At least you can’t drink ALL day.](https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/world-cup-host-state-approves-23-hour-drinking-laws-with-bars-able-to-serve-alcohol-from-6am/ar-AA22nH6U) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962.md?page=17)