World Cup’s hydration breaks stir up controversy

 World Cup’s hydration breaks stir up controversy. FIFA is mandating three-minute hydration breaks, pausing about 22 minutes into each half of the game for players to drink, and not since someone’s mom forgot to cut up oranges have water breaks at soccer games been so divisive. The justification for the change to the usually continuous game is to protect athletes playing in extreme heat, but FIFA has also allowed broadcasters to cut to commercials during these breaks—something Fox, the English-language US broadcaster, is taking advantage of. That could add up to more than 800 additional advertising slots during the tournament, per Bloomberg. But the extra pause has drawn complaints from some players and fans, who say it disrupts the game’s flow.