FIFA rule breach in Club World Cup final as Chelsea bank £88m from win after PSG scrap

The FIFA Club World Cup final certainly caught the attention of the football world with several incidents that occurred during Chelsea's victory over Paris Saint-Germain, including a breach of the half-time duration rule.

The last match of the tournament featured fireworks, flyovers and even an appearance from President Donald Trump. Chelsea emerged as comfortable winners against Champions League holders PSG, with Cole Palmer scoring twice and Joao Pedro adding another to give them a comfortable 3-0 lead before half-time.

Luis Enrique's squad failed to display their top form at MetLife Stadium, while Enzo Maresca's side secured the trophy and a hefty £88.4million prize pot.

Following Chelsea's three-goal lead in the first half, spectators were treated to a half-time show that could be compared to the Super Bowl. Pop stars such as J Balvin, Tems, Doja Cat, Emmanuel Kelly and Coldplay all performed to entertain the crowd, but the reception was not overly positive.

In fact, the half-time show violated a crucial FIFA rule. According to the seventh statute in the Laws of the Game, the half-time interval in a football match should not exceed 15 minutes, and only the referee has the authority to alter this.

In reality, the half-time break lasted an excessive 24 minutes instead of the usual 15. The match itself also started later than planned, kicking off at 8:08pm UK time rather than the scheduled 8pm.

Many viewers took to social media to react to the Club World Cup half-time blunder, with the tournament being labelled a "joke" by much of its audience.

One viewer commented: "Expect more of the same in the upcoming World Cup next year as FIFA allows it to be turned into the Super bowl, with the football being incidental to the corporate crap and promotion of Trump and various 'personalities.'"

The tournament was further dismissed by one user as a "vanity project," while another said: "Everything about that tournament is a joke."

The controversy didn't end at the final whistle, however, as post-match tensions escalated into a brawl involving players from both teams. In the midst of Maresca's team's celebrations, PSG coach Enrique shockingly took to the pitch to confront his rivals.

Enrique appeared to lash out, striking Chelsea's goalscorer Joao Pedro in the face, which resulted in him hitting the deck. The Spaniard was subsequently separated from the conflict by his own coaching staff, but not before PSG's keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma confronted some Chelsea players as well.

The scrap seemed to ignite with PSG's right-back Achraf Hakimi taking exception to something said by Pedro and Andrey Santos. What began as a verbal dispute evolved into a physical one, with players pushing each other around while Pedro remained down after some aggression from Enrique.

Despite the ugly scenes at the end of the match, Maresca and his Chelsea squad will be overjoyed to bring the Club World Cup trophy home to Stamford Bridge – a brilliant addition to their Conference League triumph in late May.

Reflecting on the victory post-match, Maresca said: "I have no words for the players. They all deserve this and it's a good moment. For me, we won the game in the first 10 minutes. We set the tempo and we were very good at pressing them.

"Unfortunately with the weather conditions, it is not easy to continue for 90 minutes, but I think we won the game in the first 10 minutes."

After witnessing Chelsea's commanding performance, President Trump acknowledged the unexpected outcome of the clash with PSG. Following his presentation of the trophy to the champions, he said: "This is a bit of an upset we've watched today."

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