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Heatstroke, sports washing and VAR psychology: the science of the World Cup – podcast

It’s just a week until the first whistle of the 2026 World Cup. To mark the occasion, Madeleine Finlay talks to Ian Sample about the science behind the tournament. It’s likely to be one of the hottest ever World Cups, and scientists ...

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It’s just a week until the first whistle of the 2026 World Cup. To mark the occasion, Madeleine Finlay talks to Ian Sample about the science behind the tournament. It’s likely to be one of the hottest ever World Cups, and scientists ...

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According to The Guardian’s report, Heatstroke, sports washing and VAR psychology: the science of the World Cup – podcast, It’s just a week until the first whistle of the 2026 World Cup. To mark the occasion, Madeleine Finlay talks to Ian Sample about the science behind the tournament. It’s likely to be one of the hottest ever World Cups, and scientists have written to Fifa asking it to reconsider its 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 the tournament, and the effect of VAR on the psychology of referees and fans Subscribe to Football Weekly for coverage of all the World Cup games Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading…

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The development sits in VINI’s Science file for readers following research, health, climate, space, medicine, and scientific institutions. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The report is dated 2026-06-04T04:00:26+00:00.

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Primary source: Heatstroke, sports washing and VAR psychology: the science of the World Cup – podcast via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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