General World Cup Chat

[whoareyaaa]

Get Mike Dean on there who the hell is this woman

[FoxesWalk]

Accuweather is now forecasting thunderstorms in Mexico City before and during the game 

[whoareyaaa]

3 minutes ago, FoxesWalk said:

Accuweather is now forecasting thunderstorms in Mexico City before and during the game 

Looks fine 

[Foxmeister]

22 minutes ago, 21st Century Fox said:

Wow, Belgium just gained about 7 billion supporters on Tuesday.

I’m almost as keen for Belgium to beat US as England to win tonight. Even if YT nets a double-hat trick and wins the golden boot.

[foxile5]

This with the Balogan red card (and the Ronaldo one) is just a less invasive form of match fixing.

 

It's providing teams with a competitive advantage in order that a preferable body or individual is rewarded.

 

It stinks to high hell. If Balogan scores Tuesday then all hell should break loose. Whether we think the red card is just is totally circumspect; no other team gets the option of appeal for red cards. It's disgusting and it strikes to the core of competitive fairness. 

 

I didn't think football had MUCH integrity left but I at least thought politics stayed out of the actual mechanics of the game.

 

Got exactly what I expected from the Americanisation of the sport. Totally and utterly disgusting. 

Edited 9 hours ago by foxile5

[The boy Linacre]

3 minutes ago, foxile5 said:

This with the Balogan red card (and the Ronaldo one) is just a less invasive form of match fixing.

 

It's providing teams with a competitive advantage in order that a preferable body or individual is rewarded.

 

It stinks to high hell. If Balogan scores Tuesday then all hell should break loose. Whether we think the red card is just is totally circumspect; no other team gets the option of appeal for red cards. It's disgusting and it strikes to the core of competitive fairness. 

 

I didn't think football had MUCH integrity left but I at least thought politics stayed out of the actual mechanics of the game.

 

Got exactly what I expected from the Americanisation of the sport. Totally and utterly disgusting. 

Yeah was BDCR allowed to play after getting sent off at Birmingham away in Feb??  And he didn’t even rake the back of somebody’s calf!!

[when_you're_smiling]

31 minutes ago, MPH said:

Of course, it’s nothing to do with the fact Infantino is considered a close friend of Trump…

FIFA’s HQ in America happens to be in Trump Tower NY too.

[foxile5]

1 minute ago, The boy Linacre said:

Yeah was BDCR allowed to play after getting sent off at Birmingham away in Feb??  And he didn’t even rake the back of somebody’s calf!!

Haaaa, it would have been further punishment to allow him.

 

But it's serious, isn't it? The Ronaldo red being rescinded was dressed up as extra special circumstances etc but within a month it's happened again. It's just a floodgate being opened for further corruption. How far down the line until hosting the World Cup is basically a ticket through to the Semis or the Final with preferential treatments being given.

 

It's just not on, is it? It can't be defended.

[Jattdogg]

Fookin disgraceful by Fifa.

 

Asterisk next to anything US does now. 100% Trump praly threatened to cancel all games in america unless they retract the suspension. I wouldnt be surprised if the US somehow wins the cup.

 

More reasons to not like yanks (at least when it comes to sport lol). That said,  it's more a knee jerk comment because the yanks i know are good people. The ones on this forum are lovely.

[foxile5]

19 minutes ago, Jattdogg said:

 

More reasons to not like yanks (at least when it comes to sport lol). That said,  it's more a knee jerk comment because the yanks i know are good people. The ones on this forum are lovely.

I'd like to pick this up - I totally agree. I like American people and have spent time there.

 

It isn't about disliking them as people. It's about rejecting their sporting culture where money, influence, and commercial assets are placed at the heart of the game. They have a form of competition that doesn't allow for failure in any real terms and jeopardy of position doesn't really occur. It fits their hyper-capitalist model. It's something the rest of the sporting community should reject.

 

The bullshit surrounding the 'hydration breaks' is a really good example of this. FIFA have said there was 'no additional revenue' generated from it. Yeah. No shit. Because you sold those five minute breaks AS PART OF THE ADVERTISING REVENUE. It was packaged up for American sporting tastes - no long periods of play and excessive advertising. 

 

I want to be clear in this - your average American is a decent individual. Their approach to sports isn't something that the global community should accept.

 

It's easy to forget that 'American Sports' exist in a small way as a rejection of global sporting traditions. American Football being a portmanteau of football and rugby. Baseball being a form of rounders and cricket. American exceptionalism (and their relatively new status as a recognisable country) contributed to the development of a sporting culture that existed as 'The New'. We shouldn't turn our backs on 'The Old' because their financial and political position, as well as cultural appetites, try and dictate that.

 

It's spineless and cowardly. 

[21st Century Fox]

The rest of the World on Tuesday:

 

[The Bear]

31 minutes ago, The boy Linacre said:

Yeah was BDCR allowed to play after getting sent off at Birmingham away in Feb??  And he didn’t even rake the back of somebody’s calf!!

That usually happens if the appeal for the red card isn't able to be heard before the next game. 

[Clogger_]

That's the most nakedly corrupt sporting decision ever isn't it? Even by FIFAs standards

[Corky]

Won't be sad to see the back of this event.

[Super_horns]

1 hour ago, Jattdogg said:

Fookin disgraceful by Fifa.

 

Asterisk next to anything US does now. 100% Trump praly threatened to cancel all games in america unless they retract the suspension. I wouldnt be surprised if the US somehow wins the cup.

 

More reasons to not like yanks (at least when it comes to sport lol). That said,  it's more a knee jerk comment because the yanks i know are good people. The ones on this forum are lovely.

Was probably a harsh looking red but certainly not shocking and definitely shouldn’t be interference from outsiders about the decision.

[Jattdogg]

1 minute ago, Super_horns said:

Was probably a harsh looking red but certainly not shocking and definitely shouldn’t be interference from outsiders about the decision.

You can 100% disagree with a call or correct it after. But to delay a card? Either overturn it with valid reasons and evidence or you are just plain corrupt.

[Super_horns]

8 minutes ago, Jattdogg said:

You can 100% disagree with a call or correct it after. But to delay a card? Either overturn it with valid reasons and evidence or you are just plain corrupt.

Exactly .

 

Must go through the right channels of appeal .

[foxile5]

Gruesome. This simply isn't okay. 

[Free Falling Foxes]

It wouldn't bother me one jot if we didn't even enter the World Cup, nor the Euros for that matter.

Let's just bring back the Home Internationals  at the end of each season.

[shen]

I think Norway will win this. Gaps opening in Brazil's defense and they look sharp. Really like Schjelderup, ever since his days in Denmark he's looked classy and skillful.

[Grebfromgrebland]

3 minutes ago, shen said:

I think Norway will win this. Gaps opening in Brazil's defense and they look sharp. Really like Schjelderup, ever since his days in Denmark he's looked classy and skillful.

Yeah same reckon haaland will score

[MPH]

2 hours ago, when_you're_smiling said:

FIFA’s HQ in America happens to be in Trump Tower NY too.

 

you couldn’t make it up!

[fox_up_north]

I see FIFA have conveniently funded a mass takedown of a load of streaming sites. 

 

Setting fire to goodwill with this tournament

[Grebfromgrebland]

57 minutes ago, fox_up_north said:

I see FIFA have conveniently funded a mass takedown of a load of streaming sites. 

 

Setting fire to goodwill with this tournament

Should've been i6n YouTube for everyone to see

[Vlad the Fox]

**** fifa

FIFA wants you to ‘relax and chill’. But ordered a World Cup bong be destroyed

Amy Lawrence

Of all the regulations FIFA have imposed for this World Cup, the most psychedelic concerns a clampdown on suppliers of cannabis goods in Toronto. 

Unfortunately, when Gianni Infantino suggested on the eve of the tournament that people just “relax and chill”, that invitation was not extended to those who would naturally gravitate to doing exactly that. 

The owners of Cosmic Charlie’s, brothers Sean and Charlie Kady, have had an experience they could not have imagined when they first spotted a bong shaped like the World Cup trophy at their wholesalers. What started as a fun way to get into the tournament spirit took an unexpected turn when they were served with legal papers from FIFA’s lawyers last Friday and ordered to cease and desist trading in the offending apparatus.

“It has come to our client’s attention that you are advertising, offering for sale and/or selling products bearing the FIFA trademarks,” the legal letter from law firm Lipkus Law, representing FIFA in Canada, said, as per Reuters.

It was a scary five-page document and the Kady brothers were aware that they did not have the clout to take that particular battle on. “We took a hammer to it this morning and a pair of scissors, and sent the attorney proof that it was ‘unusable and unsellable’, which was the official terminology,” Sean explained to The Athletic. “Unfortunately it’s RIP World Cup trophy bong, that one won’t get smoked out of.”

Charlie and Sean Kady in their shop Cosmic Charlie’s, temporary home of the fateful bongPhoto: Amy Lawrence

The recreational use and sale of cannabis was legalized in Canada in 2018 and the brothers opened Cosmic Charlie’s five years ago. Charlie used to be a banker, and Sean was in sales, but after the pandemic they wanted a new way of life, working independently and as a family. They are warm-hearted, easy-going people, and don’t come across as the kind of villains FIFA would have in their sights. 

Cosmic Charlie’s flagship location is in one of the most eclectic neighbourhoods of downtown Toronto. Once through the entrance, with its corrugated iron walls and and funky purple mirror, inside anything you might require for a natural high is neatly laid out.  

The World Cup bong, prior to its demise, was on display on top of the glass cabinet in the middle of the store. “The sacred golden trophy…”  Charlie says dreamily. “We didn’t really investigate too deeply about trademarks and thought it was a good way to lean into the fun, and thought we would get some nice conversations with fans in the store.”

Reuters / Divya Rajagopal

The brothers are fans, and typically for Toronto they have roots in different cultures and countries. “We have a very diverse background, with family in Spain, Argentina, England and France, so growing up World Cups were always heated,” Sean says. Charlie is in the store in a Spain jersey, the day of their mind-bending 0-0 draw with Cape Verde.

The Kadys are positive thinkers, so don’t want this brush with FIFA regulations to spoil their tournament. “I wish there were more games here,” says Sean. “It has been cool to see the city build around it, we are great hosts. More languages are spoken here than anywhere in the world which creates an open mindedness. We have amazing food and a great diversity of people, and a welcome so that when you ask someone for things to do they are always happy to showcase the good things about living here.”

So, the show at Cosmic Charlie’s goes on, albeit without the showpiece bong in all its glory, although it will live on in the store’s folklore. “I was going to make a memorial,” Sean ponders, “So maybe a picture of the broken bong and a red card from FIFA make it into that.”

FIFA was approached for comment.