{"id":2048000,"date":"2026-07-17T11:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T08:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2048000"},"modified":"2026-07-17T11:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T08:08:11","slug":"the-cures-robert-smith-blasts-fifas-world-cup-final-half-time-show-please-just-f-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2048000","title":{"rendered":"The Cure\u2019s Robert Smith Blasts FIFA\u2019s World Cup Final Half-Time Show: \u2018Please Just F\u2014 Off\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tThe Cure\u2019s Robert Smith is not looking forward to the Chris Martin-curated half-time show at Sunday\u2019s (July 19) FIFA World Cup final. For the first time in its history, the final will feature a half-time show, which runs to 11 minutes of the allotted 15-minute break. Broadcasters, however, expect the total half-time break to potentially run to 30 minutes, a violation of FIFA\u2019s own rules.<\/p>\n

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See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tThe move has been roundly criticized as has the introduction of \u201chydration breaks\u201d during the first and second halves, with fans often booing the breaks in the stadium.<\/p>\n

\n\tAhead of the match-up between Argentina and Spain for the trophy at the New York\/New Jersey Stadium, Smith has blasted the show \u2013 set to feature BTS, Justin Bieber, Shakira and Madonna \u2013 and FIFA\u2019s president Gianni Infantino in a pair of posts on The Cure\u2019s official Instagram profile.<\/p>\n

\n\tSharing a description of the event alongside his own commentary, Smith\u2019s caption reads: \u201cThe half-time show, which has been curated by Coldplay\u2019s Chris Martin, will feature Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira and the K\u2011pop boyband BTS. Fifa\u2019s president, Gianni Infantosser, has described the half-time show as \u2018groundbreaking spectacle\u2019 that will \u2018celebrate football, music and our shared values, ensuring a legacy that transcends the final whistle.\u2019 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH\u2026 #Breadandcircuses #MUGWANK #pleasejustf\u2013koff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tA few hours later, Smith clarified that while he was not criticizing the artists themselves, he was disdainful of the show as a concept and the fact that President Trump will be on hand alongside Infantino to award the winner the coveted trophy.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe added, \u201csigh\u2026 FOR THOSE OF US NOT QUITE GETTING IT: THE POINT IS NOT R E A L L Y ABOUT W H O IS CURATING OR PERFORMING, IT IS ABOUT THE #MUGWANK I D E A OF A FOOTBALL WORLD CUP FINAL HALF TIME SHOW\u2026 IF YOU NOW UNDERSTAND MY \u2018AAAAAAAGH!\u2019 A BIT BETTER, BUT STILL DON\u2019T AGREE, PLEASE ADJUST YOUR RED CAP, YOUR \u2018I \ud83d\udda4 JANNY + DONNY + $$$\u2019 TSHIRT AND\u2026 KNOCK YOURSELF OUT? ONWARDS\u2026 RSX PS. \u201cInfantosser has said he and US president Trumpton will small hand over trophy on Sunday\u201d. SADLY, THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH A\u2019S LEFT FOR THE \u2018ARGH\u2019 THAT SHOULD FOLLOW\u2026 #breadandcircuses #pleasejustf\u2013koff #f\u2013kfifa #justlookup.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSmith is a longtime fan of west London team Queens Park Rangers. On Wednesday (July 17), England crashed out of the tournament following a 2-1 defeat to Argentina, with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger caught on camera expressing his disappointment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Cure is currently touring through Europe on a festival run with their next show set to take place on Friday (July 17) in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.<\/p>\n

\"Billboard<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/music-news\/the-cure-robert-smith-blasts-fifa-world-cup-half-time-show-1236296623\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/P115TN59-e1773827805342.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard The Cure\u2019s Robert Smith is not looking forward to the Chris Martin-curated half-time show at Sunday\u2019s (July 19) FIFA World Cup final. For the first time in its history, the final will feature a half-time show, which runs to 11 minutes of the allotted 15-minute break. Broadcasters, however, expect […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2048000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2048000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048000\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2048000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2048000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2048000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}