The hydration breaks that have been added to World Cup matches have not been well received by players and fans, mainly because some TV stations are using these breaks to insert extra advertisements.
It is hot in much of North America in June, and in some places very hot. So it would seem natural for players in the World Cup, currently underway in the United States, Mexico and Canada, to take quick water breaks in the middle of each half.
But breaks have not gained popularity. In addition to the annoyance of the extra announcements, fans are angry that the flow of the game is interrupted, and some believe that the team they are supporting may somehow lose their “momentum” because of the pause.
Football is traditionally a game of continuous flow. Each half has a programmed duration of 45 minutes, and there are only quick stops, after a goal or when the ball goes out of bounds, for example.
But concerns about the players’ health have led to stoppages in recent years so they can drink water.
Notably, at last year’s Club World Cup in the United States, referees, at their discretion, allowed hydration breaks.
In December, FIFA (International Football Federation), the sport’s highest governing body, decided to make breaks more regular and consistent.
In this World Cup, halfway through each half, the referee blows the whistle, and the players go to the side of the field for a three-minute break to drink water.
For the sake of consistency, there are no exceptions, even in cases of milder weather or rain. Breaks are even taken in covered, air-conditioned stadiums.
Some fans at games, apparently expecting more nonstop action, booed the timeouts. Others complained on social media.
Fans outside the United States note that the timeouts have essentially turned football into a four-quarter game instead of two halves — more like American football.
Players and coaches have also not fully embraced innovation. “I don’t like it,” US coach Mauricio Pochettino told reporters. “I only like it when the conditions are extreme, but when the conditions are good, it’s unnecessary.”
Dutch star Virgil van Dijk was among the players who said they disliked the extra breaks.
Some television stations around the world have made timeouts even more annoying for fans by using the new breaks to insert commercials, normally prohibited except during the traditional halftime period.
Fox, which holds the English-language rights to the World Cup in the United States, is inserting ads, but Telemundo, the Spanish-language broadcaster, is not. Fox and Telemundo did not immediately respond to requests for comment on their decisions.
Some teams may have benefited from the breaks. Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged that he made tactical adjustments during the first-half break that helped his team fight back and equalize after being 1-0 down against Morocco on Saturday.
Another concern for some is the unquantifiable notion of momentum.
Goals were sometimes scored right after a hydration break (just as they can be scored at any time, of course).
And when that happens, fans of the other team complain that their good moment was somehow broken. (Of course, it is impossible to know whether the goal would have been scored even without the break.)
In Wednesday’s England-Croatia game at an indoor stadium near Dallas, Croatia drew 1-1 not long after the first-half hydration break, leading to claims that the stoppage had disrupted England’s rhythm.
These claims were silenced after England doubled their lead. The game ended 4-2 for the English.
