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The Spidercam is a camera system that is suspended above the playing field by cables. It allows television broadcasters to move the camera both horizontally and vertically with speed and precision to get some incredible action shots during football matches.
In the quarter-final of the 2026 World Cup between Norway and England, England’s equalising goal came after a Norwegian goal kick allegedly hit one of the Spidercam cables, dropping to the feet of England midfielder Eliott Anderson, who started the move that led to Jude Bellingham’s first goal in a 2-1 victory. Argentina had the Hand of God…
The No Racism Gesture was implemented by FIFA to empower players, team officials, and referees to take a stand against racism when it occurs during a match, whether on the pitch or in the stands. If a person wants to alert the referee that racist abuse has taken place they cross their hands at the wrists, prompting the referee to start a three-step procedure, the last step being the suspension of the match.
At the 2026 World Cup at the end of a contentious match between Argentina and Egypt, where Egypt had felt hard done by, coach Hossam Hassan made the No Racism Gesture in front of the referee. Post-match, Hassan claimed the officials favoured the World Champions in the 3-2 victory for Argentina.
Under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC), the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has the discretion to suspend disciplinary action that has been taken by a referee in a previous match. For example, a red card can be suspended, with a probationary period of anywhere up to four years. If the player in question commits another act of a similar nature within the defined suspension period, the sanction is reactivated alongside any additional disciplinary measures.
In the 2026 World Cup, Article 27 was quoted by FIFA when USA striker Folarin Balogun had his red card suspended in time for USA to face Belgium in the last-16. The controversy surrounded the alleged phone call from US President Donald Trump to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, asking him to remove the suspension so Balogun could play. He did, Balogun played, and USA got pumped 4-1 by Belgium, the hosts knocked out.
If a knock-out tournament match is level after 90 minutes it will then move on to extra time and penalties if still no winner can be found. Each team has 5 chances to score from a penalty kick, taking it in turns, the team that scores the most goals wins. The pressure builds as you reach the end of the 5 kicks. If it is level after 5 kicks each, sudden death begins. A penalty shootout could go on forever in theory, with every player taking a kick, including goalkeepers, until one team scores and the other misses. In big games like the World Cup, there is nothing quite like the intensity of a penalty shootout!
In the 2022 English League Cup Final at Wembley, Liverpool beat Chelsea 11-10. Every player on both sides scored their penalty, so it came down to both keepers. Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher scored the winning spot kick after Kepa Arrizabalaga missed for Chelsea. Drama!
The standard that VAR is supposed to use before overturning referee decisions. In theory, VAR should only intervene if the original call was clearly wrong. In practice, nobody agrees on what's clear or obvious, especially for handball and soft penalties. The phrase has become a punchline for whenever VAR makes a controversial call that seems subjective rather than definitive.