# 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:** 66
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1301 "2026-06-20T04:10:33Z")
I agree that he’s an idiot, but I think it’s wild that we go from “every player does this multiple times a game and it’s fine” to “you have to play down a man and are suspended” the first time in the most important tournament there is. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2026, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1302 "2026-06-20T04:10:45Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > He knows the rules. Idiot. He’s not precisely covering himself with glory. The rule is still stupid though. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2026, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1303 "2026-06-20T04:12:58Z")
The worst thing is that he could’ve said anything in Guarani and nobody outside Paraguay would’ve understood what he said, there was no need to cover his mouth. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2026, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1304 "2026-06-20T04:13:21Z")
He knows not to hit his face, and his teammates faces, with a hammer. And yet he persists! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1305 "2026-06-20T04:58:46Z")
What is the Paraguayan doing shooting there? You’re right at stoppage time and protecting a lead! Kill time! ---
**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:** [June 20, 2026, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1306 "2026-06-20T04:59:49Z")
The most Copa Libertadores World Cup game so far. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1307 "2026-06-20T05:00:31Z")
Bluesky is saying it’s super Concacaf, a lot because of the ref. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2026, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1308 "2026-06-20T05:01:43Z")
C’mon Paraguay, 3 minutes 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:** [June 20, 2026, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1309 "2026-06-20T05:04:58Z")
LA HORA REFERÍ!!! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1310 "2026-06-20T05:07:12Z")
Hell yeah, US wins group D. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1311 "2026-06-20T05:07:55Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > And now we have the first stupid red card for a player for covering his mouth. > Stupid stupid stupid rule. What’s the point of that rule, anyway? Do they have lip readers in the VAR room who will issue a card if the detect a player swearing, and so the players aren’t allowed to conceal their mouths? ---
**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:** [June 20, 2026, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1312 "2026-06-20T05:09:01Z")
PARAGUAY PORÁ! (“porá” is “beautiful” in Guarani, together with “Guazú” (big) and “Aña” (devil) they make up my whole Guarani vocabulary) ---
**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:** [June 20, 2026, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1313 "2026-06-20T05:09:46Z")
To stop players using homophobic or racist insults from getting away with it. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1314 "2026-06-20T06:42:49Z")
Yes, but do they actually review that? Suppose the Paraguayan player had not covered his mouth. Is there some FIFA official who would review the video to try to determine what he said? Does it happen in the moment, or is it reviewed sometime later? ---
**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:** [June 20, 2026, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1315 "2026-06-20T10:24:34Z")
It is reviewed when an allegation takes place. There are a lot of sources of audio around the pitch; sometimes they are able to catch it, sometimes they are not. All this was largely prompted by a high profile incident in which a player said something to Vini Jr. with his shirt pulled up over his mouth. Vini and Mbappe swore that it was racist, the player said no, it was just homophobic (which is a lesser fine). FIFA said fuck it, we’re not going to keep trying to sort this out, just don’t cover your mouth while saying something to an opponent or it’s a red. I’m glad they’re doing this, as FIFA and other organizations have been struggling with homophobic and racist slurs on the pitch for time immemorial, and what other thing could you possibly be saying to an opposing player that involves covering your mouth? Also, I genuinely thought not covering your mouth on the pitch was such a low bar that the rule would never get invoked. And to be clear, my opinion is that categorization racist or homophobic language under the rubric of “trash talk” is just disguising the issue, as there are plenty of ways to trash talk your opponent without doing 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:** [June 20, 2026, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1316 "2026-06-20T13:55:19Z")
I think there are ways to deal with the issue without affecting a match to this extent, for example a monetary fine (my prefered option), a yellow card or a timeout (cover your mouth: 5 minutes outside the pitch). ---
**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:** [June 20, 2026, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1317 "2026-06-20T14:00:16Z")
Back to the strictly “futbolistico”, it’s obvious that the Turks did not research Paraguay before the match, Conmebol teams know that you can lob crosses into a Paraguayan team’s penalty box for a millenia and go out empty handed. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2026, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1318 "2026-06-20T14:16:09Z")
RE the elimination of Turkey: that is a hard blow for Turkish football. This was only the third participation for them in a WC (after 1954 and 2002), and they were really enthusiastic this time and thought they had their best and most competitive squad ever in a WC (and on paper, it is, but it didn’t work out). It has been a tradition in Germany since the “Sommermärchen” of 2006 to put little German flags on our cars during a WC, and you can somehow measure the level of enthusiasm the fans feel for a particular tournament by the number of cars that are flagged. The fans of foreign teams in Germany soon followed suit, so you also see many Turkish, Croatian, Italian (when they qualify…) flags and so on. At the beginning of this year’s WC, I saw more Turkish flags on cars than German, but during the tournament that has changed in favor of German flags. Now the last Turkish fans will take them down. ETA: and on a personal note, I feel sorry for them, I had wished them better luck. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1319 "2026-06-20T14:22:44Z")
As a partisan, I’m happy the US has clinched the group, but as a broader fan of soccer, I’m disappointed that the new standard of head-to-head as the first tiebreaker has rendered the third match meaningless (for the US and Türkiye; Australia and Paraguay still have work to do). It’s always nice to have some drama watching a match, you know? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/1320 "2026-06-20T14:52:45Z")
Switzerland tied Qatar, of course, or vice versa. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962.md?page=65) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962.md?page=67)