A leading football journalist has questioned FIFA about its adherence to the Laws of the Game during Sunday's Club World Cup final in New Jersey.
Chelsea and European champions Paris Saint-Germain fought it out for the somewhat spurious title of club world champions at the end of a tournament that has been widely criticised from its inception.
At the heart of complaints is the naked and heavy-handed greed underpinning the competition, which has also seen FIFA president Gianni Infantino aligning himself unapologetically with terrific golfer Donald Trump and making sure that his own name is engraved on the trophy more than once.
The showpiece final in East Rutherford was always likely to be an artificially glitzy affair and spunky young upstart Robbie Williams performed before kick-off in a thinly-veiled concession to the youth audience that's supposed to be invested in the Club World Cup for some reason.
Advert
But while excited football fanatics are of course allowed to enjoy whatever competition football the game can serve up, FIFA itself has a responsibility to football first and foremost.
It seems that nobody has informed Infantino of that fact but you can be sure that Martyn Ziegler, chief sports reporter at The Times, wouldn't hold back given the opportunity.
On X, formerly Twitter, Ziegler asked: "What is the point of FIFA saying it upholds the Laws of the Game when it ignores maximum 15-min half-time break so Infantino can have this 24-min show??"
Those 24 minutes were full of musical performances more akin to a Super Bowl halftime show.
FIFA allowing a 24-minute break, never mind planning one, is ridiculous.
The length of the half-time break is dictated by clause 7.2 of the Laws of the Game, under 'Law 7: The Duration of the Match', which reads:
"Players are entitled to an interval at half-time, not exceeding 15 minutes; a short drinks break (which should not exceed one minute) is permitted at the interval of half-time in extra time."
While the referee has some discretion, 15 minutes is laid down as a clear time limit and FIFA especially should be applying the Laws of the Game properly.
Football's laws are not defined by FIFA alone.
The game's law-making body is the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which requires a six-to-two majority vote to make a change.
Four of those votes are held by FIFA representatives, while there's one each for the national football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Those nine tedious minutes might appear to be a trivial matter but FIFA's culpability for them should be considered questionable.
What it says about Infantino, FIFA and next year's World Cup is plain for all to see.
Topics: Football, FIFA Club World Cup, FIFA
Chris Nee