It seems to me that there is some logic to using the same rule for every game within a particular tournament. That is, if the rules specify a break in some games, thereby giving the coaches a chance to strategize etc., it seems to make sense to specify the break in all games so that all coaches have the same opportunity.
If it weren’t the breaks, the Brits would find something else to complain about. They’ve only ever hosted the World Cup a single time (word is they’ll get the 2035 women’s edition), but they seem to feel entitled to lecture the rest of the world on exactly how everything is to be done (e.g., endless complaining about the vuvuzelas in 2010,* grousing about the weather being too hot whenever it’s outside Europe, complaining that game times are not convenient enough for them on TV, not liking that the grass might be drier than it is in England such that you might have to play differently…). Brits and soccer are, I guess, like Canadians and hockey—a country I like to visit with people who are generally pleasant enough but who turn into sad, angry people in relation to one particular sport that they think is their private playground.
*The buzz from the vuvezelas got tiresome, but I think the FIFA executive was correct when he said that’s what they do in South Africa and it would be wrong to demand that the African fans conform to European ways of cheering just to appease Europeans watching on TV.
