World Cup cooling breaks: Fifa refuse to act as Louis van Gaal make most of heat breaks during Netherlands victory over Mexico
Manager used the breaks in 39C heat to change formation
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Fifa are unlikely to take action to stop managers using cooling breaks to change tactics and issue orders, as Louis van Gaal did so successfully against Mexico.
The Netherlands manager said he used the second and final cooling break to order Dirk Kuyt to push up from wing-back to the striker’s role in which he has shone for both Liverpool and Fenerbahce. He also told the Dutch team to “give the ball to Arjen Robben whenever you can”. Van Gaal altered his formation from a 3-5-2, which has been heavily criticised by the Dutch media, to a more aggressive 4-3-3.
His Mexican counterpart, Miguel Herrera, did not make an issue of Van Gaal’s exploitation of the rules, mainly because he had done much the same himself.
Fifa’s regulations state water breaks can be called from the 30th minute of the first half and a quarter of an hour from the end, if pitch side temperatures in the stadium go above 32 degrees. Some estimates before kick-off in Fortaleza had the heat at an uncomfortable 38 degrees.
There are only three matches left in the north of Brazil, where temperatures are significantly higher than in the south.
All will kick off at 5pm local time when temperatures are unlikely to cross the 32-degree mark. The directive also takes no account of the high humidity, which has been a critical factor in the tropical climes of Manaus.
Fifa appeared reluctant to accept cooling breaks at all and was prosecuted by a Brazilian labour court in a successful attempt to make the regulations mandatory.
The court wanted a 30-degree cut-off point but accepted Fifa’s argument for a higher, 32-degree limit. Fifa also rejected an argument from the Brazilian players’ union that all 1pm games be moved back to 4pm to protect the footballers.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments