Requiem, I think your signature does express what I think about the worldcup but I don't think it's what you intended to say: Not too long ago there were the betting scandals of the federal league in Germany where organized crime groups bribed players, referees, etc in order to get a specific outcome to certain matches and make big money with betting on that outcome. During the worldcup there were several bad decisions from players, trainers and referees causing several of the favourites to lose a game early (with many people probably betting on the favourites and better quotas on the teams that appeared less likely to win). I don't think it's too far-fetched to think there is a connection.