Practice English with NewsPractice with News
Sports212 words2 min read

FIFA Bans Players After World Cup Final Fight

gold-colored trophy and soccerball
Photo by Fauzan Saari on Unsplash
0:00 / 0:00

Listen to the story

FIFA, the organization that runs world football, has given sanctions to five players.

The sanctions came after a fight broke out at the end of the World Cup final.

FIFA decided that Paredes will miss 10 matches because of his role in the incident.

Molina received a ban of seven matches for his part in the fight.

Ayala was given a three-match ban, while Almada and Gavi each received a one-match ban.

The World Cup final is the most important match of the tournament.

It seems that a fight happened after the final match had ended.

FIFA often gives out bans when players behave badly during or after matches.

A ban stops a player from playing for their team for a certain number of games.

These punishments show that FIFA takes fighting between players seriously.

The players involved will not be able to help their teams while serving their bans.

FIFA has not given more details about how the fight started.

This kind of disciplinary action is common when players are involved in aggressive behavior.

Fans and teams are now waiting to see how this will affect future matches.

The sanctions apply to matches played after the decision was made.

FIFA's goal is to keep football safe and fair for everyone.

Vocabulary10 words

sanction
a punishment given for breaking a rule
incident
an event, often unpleasant, that happens
ban
an official rule that stops someone from doing something
disciplinary
related to punishing someone for bad behavior
tournament
a series of matches to find a winner
organization
a group of people working together for a purpose
aggressive
behaving in an angry or forceful way
final
the last match that decides the overall winner
role
the part someone plays in an event
punishment
something bad given to someone for doing wrong

Quiz

1. Why did FIFA give sanctions to five players?
2. How many matches will Ayala miss?
3. True or False: Gavi received the same length of ban as Almada.

Fill-in-the-blank listening

Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.

FIFA, the organization that runs world football, has given _____ to five players.

The sanctions came after a _____ broke out at the end of the World Cup final.

FIFA decided that Paredes will miss _____ matches because of his role in the incident.

Molina received a ban of _____ matches for his part in the fight.

Ayala was given a _____ ban, while Almada and Gavi each received a one-match ban.

The World Cup final is the most important _____ of the tournament.

FIFA often gives out bans when players behave _____ during or after matches.

A ban stops a player from playing for their team for a certain number of _____.

These punishments show that FIFA takes fighting between players _____.

This kind of _____ action is common when players are involved in aggressive behavior.

Discussion questions

  1. Do you think the punishments given by FIFA were fair? Why or why not?
  2. Why do you think fights sometimes happen after important sports matches?
  3. Should football organizations give harsher punishments for fighting? Why?
  4. How do you think these bans might affect the players' teams?

More Sports stories