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Heat stroke, sports washing, and the psychology of VAR: the science of the World Cup
Spot Sports video
It’s just a week until the first whistle of the 2026 World Cup. To celebrate, Madeleine Finlay sits down with Ian Sample to discuss the science behind the tournament.
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It’s set to be one of the hottest World Cups on record and a group of scientists has written to Fifa asking them to reconsider their heat mitigations for players and referees. Dr Oliver Gibson of Brunel University outlines their concerns.
Also on the agenda is the huge fossil fuel impact of this tournament, and the impact of VAR on the psychology of referees, and fans
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20 minutes.