# 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:** 256
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5101 "2026-07-20T18:10:51Z")
True, but that is a quite rare occurrence. There are a number of other offenses that could be awarded as indirect kicks, but just never are in the box. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5102 "2026-07-20T18:12:28Z")
This video of Alan Shearer scoring an indirect free kick in the penalty box 20+ years ago in the Premier League has 65 million views…probably because how rare it is. The only one I saw live was Ronaldo in 2009 vs Aston Villa for Manchester United. A famous match which is more remembered for a 17 year old debutant coming off the bench to score a 90th minute stunning winner in a cruch title race game for United. https:// youtu.be/thBj\_Uvnek4?si=RO6rk0phxK7YJr\_y https:// youtu.be/u0dg-wNInCY?si=ETJSQrxCHELbg4Ro Links don’t embed properly so spaced it out ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5103 "2026-07-20T18:20:38Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > When is the last time you saw an indirect free kick inside the box for attackers at the professional level? In theory, they are allowed. In practice, at some point referees seem to have decided that only direct free kicks resulting in penalties will be called there. At most 25 years ago, when on the last match day, in the last minute, the Bundesliga championship got decided by a very late indirect free kick for Bayern for the HSV keeper picking up an (allegedly) unforced back pass. It turned a whole region into a valley of tears, and Schalke became the “Meister der Herzen”, the “Champion of the Hearts”. > **[2001: The most dramatic season finale in Bundesliga history](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/bayern-munich-schalke-most-dramatic-title-finish-2001-24146)** > > In 2001, the Bundesliga experienced arguably the most dramatic season finale of all time following a mammoth battle between Schalke and Bayern Munich. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5104 "2026-07-20T18:57:11Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > > [@Maserschmidt](#): > > > > I’ve enjoyed the discussion as well! > > Seconded and thirded! Special thanks to @Frodo and @EinsteinsHund and everybody else who knows the game much better than us uneducated Americans. Hey man, careful who you call an uneducated American, I’m a season ticket holder and have been following this sport for decades 😅 ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5105 "2026-07-20T19:26:42Z")
I can confirm that, @Maserschmidt and some of his fellow Americans are just as knowledgeable about and familiar with football as our European and South-American posters, and I’m glad about it. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5106 "2026-07-20T20:00:58Z")
Ditto. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5107 "2026-07-20T20:08:48Z")
Ahh, very kind from @Frodo and @Einsteinshund, thank you guys. 🙂 > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > At most 25 years ago, when on the last match day, in the last minute, the Bundesliga championship got decided by a very late indirect free kick for Bayern for the HSV keeper picking up an (allegedly) unforced back pass. It turned a whole region into a valley of tears, and Schalke became the “Meister der Herzen”, the “Champion of the Hearts”. > > [2001: The most dramatic season finale in Bundesliga history | Bundesliga](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/bayern-munich-schalke-most-dramatic-title-finish-2001-24146) My god, is there any modern-era Bundesliga team as cursed as Schalke? Their fans have gone through a lot. A more extended version of the history of that fateful weekend for anyone interested: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0lLFZPW9r9M/maxresdefault.jpg "Most Dramatic Moment in German Football - Bundesliga Rewind") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lLFZPW9r9M) ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5108 "2026-07-20T20:10:26Z")
(without watching the video yet) Wasn’t Schalke Hitler’s team? that would explain the curse… ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5109 "2026-07-20T20:17:03Z")
It’s a made up thing with no proof. They already have enough burdens without that! 🙂 ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5110 "2026-07-20T20:18:02Z")
Ignorance fought, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5111 "2026-07-20T20:28:15Z")
On that topic, apparently the Nazis referred to Bayern as the _Judenklub_ because of its strong Jewish roots. Normally I don’t post AI overviews, so not sure how much credibility I should be according it when it states that “FC Schalke 04 was frequently associated with the era due to winning six national titles between 1933 and 1945”. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5112 "2026-07-20T20:28:29Z")
I honestly can’t think were you got this from, @Frodo, I’ve never heard that Hitler had any connections or affiliations to football at all, and if he had, never for Schalke. Schalke was a working class club founded by miners, and their best players at the time were descendants of Polish immigrants to the Ruhr region, so basically subhumans to the nazis. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5113 "2026-07-20T20:30:16Z")
I don’t remember where I got it from to be honest, I’ll google it when I’m not using the work computer to see if I can trace it. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5114 "2026-07-20T20:32:29Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Hey man, careful who you call an uneducated American Apologies. I would certainly classify myself as an uneducated American. Didn’t really mean to imply that all Americans are as ignorant as I am! ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5115 "2026-07-20T20:37:17Z")
It’s out there as a rumor, and the club has done a lot of work to refute it. According to this, it originally came up in a British newspaper article in 2008 about the worst soccer fans in history: > **[The Alleged Connection between Hitler and Schalke 04](https://releasetheknappen.com/2023/10/07/alleged-connection-hitler-schalke-04/)** > > During Hitler's rule in Germany, which lasted from 1933 to 1945, Schalke 04 achieved an impressive number of national soccer titles Imagine a British newspaper making something up! Shocking, I say. Shocking. > [@Railer13](#): > > Apologies. I would certainly classify myself as an uneducated American. Didn’t really mean to imply that all Americans are as ignorant as I am! Haha, my misread then, sorry about that. In any case, I love how many people participated in this thread ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5116 "2026-07-20T20:39:12Z")
Before Murdoch went international, I always said that the British press (the _yellow_ press anyway) was the worst. That confirms it. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5117 "2026-07-20T20:40:16Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Imagine a British newspaper making something up! Shocking, I say. Shocking. A couple posts back up. 😉 ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5118 "2026-07-20T20:43:48Z")
Wait, which is worse, the British media, or the AI that relies on it? I actually think I know the answer, but it’s close! > [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > On that topic, apparently the Nazis referred to Bayern as the _Judenklub_ because of its strong Jewish roots. This one’s true. An ugly story typical of the era: [https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/columnist/301598/the-incredible-story-of-a-munich-soccer-team-during-the-holocaust-offers-a-lesson/](https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/columnist/301598/the-incredible-story-of-a-munich-soccer-team-during-the-holocaust-offers-a-lesson/) ---
**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:** [July 20, 2026, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5119 "2026-07-20T20:57:03Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > This one’s true. An ugly story typical of the era: > > [The Incredible Story of a Munich Soccer Team During the Holocaust Offers a Lesson](https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/columnist/301598/the-incredible-story-of-a-munich-soccer-team-during-the-holocaust-offers-a-lesson/) I only learned about this chapter in the club’s history a few years ago from a TV documentary. It highly raised my esteem for the club, a club I learned to hate in my youth as a lifelong Gladbach fan, a club that always seemed like vampires to me, sucking all the blood from their enemies (by buying their players). But this doc gave me a different perspective, because they cling to that tradition and are strongly engaged against anti-semitism. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2026, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/5120 "2026-07-20T21:00:18Z")
Brother Pardel-lux, you stole my thunder. I was about to note that Spain was two-thirds of the way to a repeat of their 2008-12 run, still the most impressive international achievement of this short century imo. That was the tika-taka team headed by the brilliant Andres Iniesta. Sorry for our friend Frodo but even though they made it harder than they should have, the better team won. This has indeed been an enjoyable thread, thanks to all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962.md?page=255) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962.md?page=257)