Robert Smith has made it very clear he’s not buying into FIFA’s first-ever World Cup final halftime show.
The Cure frontman reacted online after the organisation unveiled its blockbuster music lineup – a Chris Martin-curated spectacle featuring the likes of Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira and BTS at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19 – and his response was nothing short of feral.
Naming FIFA president Gianni Infantosser directly, he disagreed that the halftime show will “celebrate football, music and our shared values, ensuring a legacy that transcends the final whistle.”
He posted on Instagram alongside a picture of NASA’s Pale Blue Dot photograph from 1990: “The half-time show, which has been curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, will feature Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira and the K-pop boyband BTS.
“Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantosser, has described the half-time show as ‘groundbreaking spectacle’ that will ‘celebrate football, music and our shared values, ensuring a legacy that transcends the final whistle’.”
Screaming in disgust, he added: “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH… #Breadandcircuses #MUGW*** #pleasejustf***off. (sic)”
He’s not the only rock icon unimpressed by the sudden Super Bowl-ification of the beautiful game. Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher has also taken aim at the idea, insisting football has been “functioning perfectly for hundreds of years” without a pop-star intermission.
The Britpop legend – a die-hard Manchester City fan – told talkSPORT he won’t be anywhere near the spectacle.
He joked: “I’m doing the half-time raffle for a leg of lamb.”
Noel doubled down, saying he dislikes the “razzmatazz” being bolted onto the sport. He argued the artists involved aren’t “football people” and questioned why the game needs a musical sideshow at all.
During England’s World Cup stint, the players and fans emotionally belted out Wonderwall, which was adopted as the unofficial World Cup anthem.
