Football on the Edge of Rugby, or Will the Beauty of a Game Beloved by Millions Disappear?
As the North American World Championship rapidly moves through the playoff bracket, having completed the rounds of 16, sports analysts are debating tactical schemes and coaching changes. However, the main storyline of these stages, hidden from the superficial eye, is unfolding not in the coaches' notebooks, but in the referees' rooms.
The closer the teams get to the final, the more obvious it becomes that the current tournament has legitimized an unprecedented level of physical aggression, which has sparked major refereeing and football-related scandals.
The paradox is that even Latin American teams – traditional guardians of the cult of technical, combination football and exquisite dribbling – have switched to a regime of brutal physical pressure in the knockout matches.
And traditionally technical teams, instead of demonstrating their usual magic with the ball, increasingly engaged in brutal aerial and ground duels, more reminiscent of techniques from wrestling and rugby.
The terrifying prospect arose that football would lose its original aesthetics, turning into a pragmatic sport of brute physical force, where the main skill became the ability to endure pain and disrupt the opponent's game.
But Don't Judge the Referees, Judge the Instructions.
In the current situation, it's unfair to blame specific referees on the field, including the Uzbek referee. The refereeing corps at this championship has demonstrated a surprisingly unanimous attitude, turning a blind eye to blatant backswipes, body blocks, arm tackles, and violent clashes during ball control.
Such systematic leniency is impossible without a direct order from above. It's clear to many that the FIFA World Cup issued specific instructions to the referees before the start of the tournament to allow play to continue, artificially inflating the actual match time by refusing to call minor and medium-sized fouls.
Football officials were counting on a nonstop, dynamic television show, so appealing to American viewers accustomed to the uncompromising nature of their national leagues. But they failed to take into account that football is a different game.
Unprotected by the whistle, defensive redoubts (and not only them, but also the forwards) realized they had been given free rein. With the tacit consent of the referees, unpunished brutality flourished on the 2026 World Cup fields. Referees were deprived of their main tool—the ability to prevent play through early yellow cards—and were advised to intervene only when an injured player was already on the field.
The Ghost of 1966 – FIFA Forgotten the Lessons of History
The history of football is cyclical, and what we are witnessing today in North American stadiums already happened exactly sixty years ago. At the 1966 World Cup in England, the organizers similarly turned a blind eye to the brutal, physical style. The result of that refereeing blindness was a hunt for the greatest masters of the era.
Opposing defenders openly and methodically brought down such ball-handling wizards as Pelé and Garrincha, not even allowing them to control the ball. Brazil was ignominiously eliminated from the group, and the great Pelé, in tears, vowed never to play in a World Cup again.
Back then, in the late 1960s, the football world was shocked by what the beautiful game had become. It took the International Federation years to correct this dangerous mistake.
It was after the English championship that yellow and red cards were introduced (incidentally, the first yellow card in an official match of the 1970 World Cup was received by Soviet footballer Kahi Asatiani in the Mexico-USSR game). Strict bans were imposed on any heated arguments with the referee, as well as on tackles on players from behind while receiving the ball.
The position of referees was strengthened, given them the status of inviolable protectors of the players' health. But some matches in the group stage, the Round of 16, and even the Round of 16 of this year's championship (when teams that committed serious violations would seemingly be eliminated from the race for the coveted trophy) have revealed disturbing facts.
The match between France and Paraguay became the apotheosis of impunity, when French captain Kylian Mbappé was subjected to a truly systematic beating.
The South American defenders not only indulged in underhanded punches but also engaged in outright physical violence outside of play. The refereeing team, led by Ilgiz Tantashev, came under heavy criticism, although, upon closer inspection, the referees were held hostage by FIFA's new guidelines.
The logical and ugly culmination of this lax approach was the post-match scandal involving a ball thrown at Mbappé's back and the mass brawl that the referee was completely unable to control. It's a good thing that most camera operators avoided filming such scenes during the broadcast, although the internet was literally flooded with unsightly footage and commentary from fans' smartphones.
The match between Argentina and Egypt was less dramatic, and there were relatively few cards – 13 fouls were recorded for Argentina and 11 for Egypt. However, the game was very close, and key moments (the penalty, the goal disallowed, the late debate) fueled emotions on both sides. Argentina ultimately won a comeback 3-2, advancing to the quarterfinals.
In the parallel, tense rivalry between Colombia and Switzerland, we saw the other side of the coin – psychological provocations and borderline fouls that sometimes substituted for pure sportsmanship.
Even the great Cristiano Ronaldo, for whom this North American World Cup was the last of his career, was forced to survive in the tight grip of the double defenders who shadowed the fading star in the football firmament in his farewell Pyrenean derby against Spain.
Instead of a beautiful sendoff for a legend of world sport, fans watched with tears in their eyes as the forty-one-year-old athlete expended his last strength in a grueling ground game, leaving the field defeated not so much tactically as physically.
What the 2026 World Cup Is Teaching Our Children
The most undesirable consequence of referee laxity extends far beyond professional sports. Millions of very young football fans, children, and teenagers around the world, watch the playoff matches on television and in the stands.
They look up to their idols, the biggest stars of Planet Football, and imbibe their behavior patterns as the only correct ones. Instead of learning complex feints, honing their dribbling skills, and mastering clever combination play in courtyards and sports clubs, the younger generation sees that the winner is the one who pushes the ball harder, sneaks a punch, or even outright tackles their opponent to the ground.
The rudeness that has gained legitimacy at the main tournament of the four-year period will inevitably, like a virus, spread to national championships, youth schools, and playgrounds. We risk raising a generation of footballers who will know how to fight but forget how to play.
Furthermore, the young talents themselves, the potential future stars, are at risk, simply being mauled in the youth sports clubs by their more physically developed peers, with the tacit connivance of local referees who blindly copy the style of the adult World Cup.
Football has conquered the planet and become the number one sport thanks to its aesthetics, ease, and accessibility. And also to wisdom, for football is essentially chess, but with real pieces. It is a game of intellect, speed, and technique. But currently, refereeing doctrine is dangerously biased toward craft and brute force.
Protecting true football stars from injuries that could render them unfit for the sport is not simply a matter of public health; it's a matter of preserving football's legacy.
If the International Federation doesn't reconsider its policies at the end of this cycle and restore referees to their protective role, football risks losing its soul entirely, giving way to an unsightly substitute made up of rugby and wrestling.
What Awaits Us in the Coming Days
France will play Morocco in Boston on July 10. The following day, Spain will face Belgium in Los Angeles. On July 12, Norway faces England in Miami, and on the same day, Argentina faces Switzerland in Kansas City.
This will happen thanks to the fact that we witnessed yet another shock in the Round of 16. Morocco eliminated Canada 3-0. Belgium crushed the USA 4-1, Norway beat Brazil 2-1, and Switzerland, after a goalless draw with Colombia in regulation and stoppage time, beat them 4-3 on penalties. Argentina and Spain predictably advanced to the next stage, but not without some nerves for their fans.
Geographical Map and Football Schools of the Quarterfinals
The eight strongest teams on the planet clearly demonstrate the total dominance of European football thought, diluted by two bright and distinctive representatives from other continents.
The Old Continent has sent six national teams to the quarterfinals: France, Spain, Belgium, Norway, England, and Switzerland.
They will face Argentina, the reigning world champions and defenders of South American football honor, as well as the pride of the African continent, Morocco.
If we examine this squad through the prism of football schools, we see a clash of classic Latin romanticism, renewed European academicism, the pragmatic athleticism of the new Scandinavian wave, and the iron discipline that has become the hallmark of the African breakthrough.
Europe can be roughly divided into three factions. Spain and France represent the intellectual echelon, where the emphasis is on total ball control, supreme individual skill, and tactical flexibility (although the French are increasingly being criticized for excessive caution in this tournament).
England and Belgium embody a powerful, balanced, systematic football, where the talent pool of the world's leading club leagues allows them to crush opponents through class and depth.
Norway and Switzerland are the main troublemakers. The Norwegians have demonstrated a triumph of direct, physical pressure and vertical attacks, anchored by the brilliant goal-scoring instincts of the ever-smiling Erling Haaland.
The Swiss school has once again proven its viability thanks to its impeccable defensive organization, tactical mastery, and ability to persevere in the most difficult positional battles.
The South American school, represented by Argentina, at this World Cup looks like a fusion of Latin American passion, a tough character, and the genius of Lionel Messi, who is capable of single-handedly turning a shaky match around.
The African team, represented by Morocco, has firmly established itself among the elite of world football. The Moroccan school, combining natural grace, technical skill, and strict European organization, has demonstrated a phenomenal ability to build impenetrable defensive fortifications and sting the favorites with lightning-fast counterattacks.
But despite all this, we sincerely hope that the remaining eight teams will compete beautifully, fairly, and worthy of their authority.
And football will not resemble rugby or wrestling.
And the beauty of a game beloved by millions will continue to delight its incorruptible and loyal fans.
Bekdurdy AMANSARYEV
On the topic
About football outside of politics, but with a sense of Central Asian patriotism
