Gary Lineker gives verdict on Club World Cup final after FIFA broke their own rules

Daily Mirror

15-07-2025

Former Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has made his feelings clear about the entertainment organised out in the US during half time of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and PSG
Gary Lineker has admitted to being unimpressed by the glitz and glamour that FIFA attempted to add to the Club World Cup final. There were pre-match and half-time shows as football's global governing body looked to turn their showpiece game into a Super Bowl-style spectacle.
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The football remained the main attraction, as Chelsea produced a masterclass performance against Champions League holders PSG to win the Club World Cup. Enzo Maresca's side raced into a surprise 3-0 lead at MetLife Stadium, courtesy of a Cole Palmer brace and a goal from Joao Pedro before the break.
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During the interval, the crowd watched on as stars such as Doja Cat and Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin took to the stage. However, the half-time entertainment went well over the regulated 15-minute break and the show did not go down well with Lineker.
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The match, which kicked off eight minutes later than scheduled following a pre-game show featuring Robbie Williams, saw FIFA break its own rules regarding the length of half time. As per the seventh statute in the Laws of the Game, the midway interval in a football match should not exceed 15 minutes and only the referee has the power to alter it. The half-time show lasted 24 minutes in total.
'I must say, I don't know about half-time shows,' Lineker said on The Rest is Football podcast. 'It was so far away and also 23 minutes for half-time. I don't know.
'Do we really want to Americanise our sports. I mean, they obviously do that because their sports are not entertaining enough. So hopefully that will not catch on because it's too much, but I'm old school. But they did put on a good show.'
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Lineker's podcast partnered with DAZN during the Club World Cup and the former Match of the Day host had media duties during the final. However, the 64-year-old explained that he missed the pre-match entertainment due to the logistics inside the stadium.
He had given himself 30 minutes to make it to a DAZN suite, but Lineker still struggled to make it in time. 'We were trying to get up in a lift before the game and there were two or three lifts but there was hundreds and hundreds of people trying to get in them,' Lineker said.
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'And we almost missed kick-off because of the amount of time that we had to wait to get into these lifts. There was no other way of getting up there.'
Chelsea celebrated winning the inaugural Club World Cup, defeating teams from the USA, Brazil, Tunisia, Portugal and France on their way to lifting the trophy. However, the drama continued to unfold even after the final whistle had been blown.
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A fight broke out between the two sets of players, with PSG boss Luis Enrique finding himself at the centre. The Spanish coach appeared to strike Chelsea striker Pedro in the face, with the Brazil international reeling on the floor.
Enrique was pulled away from the confrontation by members of his coaching staff. However, PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was also seen arguing with the opposing side.
The row appeared to stem from PSG full-back Achraf Hakimi confronting Pedro and his Chelsea team-mate Andrey Santos. However, their dispute escalated, ensuring that there were some chaotic scenes as the Club World Cup came to a close.
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