The 2026 World Cup Finally Has Its Scandal
Rulesism has run amok, plus: A Gen Z Cringe King, learning something at Wimbledon, and—of course—a streaming nitpick
Here are six things we’re discussing to start the week ⚽🎾😂…
The Hill We’ll Die On 🗻: Soccer’s rules weren’t designed to be enforced using microchips embedded in balls or high-def, super-slo-mo, frame-by-frame analysis. Add in the swinginess of a sport decided by a handful of moments, plus the passions created by a nationalism-fueled, quadrennial event, and we were bound for refereeing controversies at the World Cup.
On Wednesday, American Folarin Balogun was sent off thanks to a single still image of his foot bending the ankle of a Bosnia and Herzegovina defender. Played in real-time, the incident looked more innocuous.
On Friday, Croatia were eliminated after a goal was called back for offsides in the final moments due to the technology within Adidas’ ball, which measured a miniscule touch from a Croatian player.
Then, on Sunday, Balogun’s suspension for Monday’s match was itself suspended (he can play, in other words), as FIFA cited an arcane rule that requires a law degree to understand1. The U.S.’s opponent, Belgium, immediately lodged its own appeal.
Hours later, England and Mexico’s instant-classic Round of 16 matchup was marked by one red card given via video review and two penalty kicks granted after bang-bang plays.
You can easily argue that each call was made correctly. In England, the Premier League has touted that its video review system now leads to 97% accuracy in officiating, up from 87% on purely human-made calls.
And yet, 76% of Prem fans want to scrap the league’s system.
Rulesism has run amok. Soccer is a game, not a set of inalienable regulations. It’s the rules that should be changed to fit the sport’s entertainment value, rather than play paused and warped to most accurately administer the rules. No one roots for regulations, and no one hangs banners for “accuracy.” We’re measuring the wrong things.2
“We cannot go in this direction of microscopic VAR interventions,” UEFA chief refereeing officer Roberto Rosetti said in February. “We love football like it is.”
Every free-flowing, physical sport (soccer, football, basketball, hockey, etc.) is facing this issue.3 And many seem headed down the wrong path. If World Cup organizers continue apace, we will end up with sensor-laden shoes, socks, balls—and just as many controversies, if not more.
The last week’s events offer a lesson to every sport: technology won’t save you. Or, as Eben wisely wrote last year: “If you think putting a chip in the ball will make this issue disappear, you fundamentally miscalculate how much aggrievance, perceived bias and conspiracy theories have shaped modern sports fandom.”
Non-Sportico Story of the Week: Politico’s decision to build a politics-of-sports beat is paying off. Here’s their breakdown of how government leaders up to President Donald Trump got involved in the push to have Balogun reinstated. It had seemed odd that Trump hadn’t been louder about the the U.S. Men’s National Team’s success to date in the tourney. He wasn’t going to miss this chance.
Gen Z’s Cringe King 👑: Erling Haaland, 25, has emerged as the undisputed champion of the World Cup so far. And he’s done it by embracing some social media behavior you’d never catch a self-serious millennial attempting.
His unfiltered selfie after beating Brazil has 65 million views on X, and counting.
His YouTube vlogs have more than 7 million views, boosted by his embrace of Cowboy culture and his attempt to play himself off as a simple social media guy, not the world’s biggest footballer.
Meanwhile on Snapchat, he’s posting … whatever this is.
We’re speechless. 🙇
Sportico Story of the Week: Alongside Haaland, Norway’s Viking Row celebration has swept the nation. We loved this timely piece from Sara, tracking the bit’s origins … back to Sweden.
What Eben Learned 🎾: Naomi Osaka’s upset win over Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon granted her entrance into something called the “Last 8 Club,” a tennis tradition that we had no clue existed. Players that reach the quarterfinal—the “last eight”—at Wimbledon receive a boatload of lifetime perks, including grounds access, free tickets, special hospitality, hotel discounts and more. Turns out Osaka also didn’t understand the benefits, which made for a funny post-match conversation.
Jacob’s Streaming Nitpick: In 2026, spoilers are inevitable. Strong be the fan who attempts to wait and watch a game (or even highlights) after the fact while avoiding the result in the meantime4. But given the time differences involved in the World Cup, sometimes you at least have to try.5 Which is why I sympathize with those YouTube TV subscribers who are peeved that the mere length of the playback for a DVR’d match gives away whether extra time is coming and whether penalty kicks will be necessary. It’s better than the old days when recordings cut off after two hours regardless, but it’s frustrating nonetheless.
A Bonus Palate Cleanser 😂: Try to keep a straight face through this interview…
Club Sportico is a community organized by Sportico, a digital media company launched in 2020 to cover the business side of sports. You can read breaking news, smart analysis, and in-depth features from Eben, Jacob and their colleagues at Sportico.com, and listen to the Sporticast podcast wherever you get your audio. Contact us at club@sportico.com.
Article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, if you’re looking for a rabbit hole
This offsides, called on Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku, is not what soccer’s rulemakers intended…
The NBA nearly had a constitutional crisis over Victor Wembanyama’s potential flagrant foul in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. NFL fans seem to have accepted that holding could be called on every play. The NHL … seems to largely eschew these debates??
Lev does this with tennis fairly often. Ask him about it at our next event.
Counterpoint: the Lukaku offsides is the ONLY VAR call I want. VAR for red cards? Madness. VAR for pushing in the box? Actively makes the game worse. VAR for crotch offsides? Art.