During the intense World Cup last-16 match between Mexico and the Netherlands on Sunday, fans saw the players leaving the field at one point for the tournament's first-ever "cooling break," the Guardian reported.
Didn't the cooling break happened at a group match game between Portugal and the US?
A FIFA statement released the reasons behind the three-minute break issued during the match between the El Tri and the Oranje.
It read, "Official and mandatory cooling breaks have not been established for the 64 games of the 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil, but instead they will be considered on a match-by-match basis. Climate conditions will be evaluated and should the temperature exceed 32 degrees, then the Fifa Venue Medical Office will recommend cooling breaks to the Fifa General Coordinator and Match Commissioner. The implementation of the cooling breaks will reside with the referee. Cooling breaks last three minutes in duration are then implemented by the referee at approximately 30 minutes into the run-of-play in both halves of the match (i.e. around the 30th minute and 75th minute respectively). Three minutes will then be added to stoppage time at the end of each half."
It can be recalled that during the group match between Portugal and the US, the "first-ever water break" during the 39th minute succeeded especially due to a Brazilian court ruling. The court ruling, which came ahead of the match, enforced the usually non-mandatory water break to a tournament match played in a temperature above 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 Fahrenheit) in the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature index, USA Today said. On the other hand, the news outlet said that the referee of the match might have taken advantage of the small Jermaine Jones injury moment to allow both teams a respite from the sweltering weather then.
In the Round of 16 match on Sunday, temperatures were up to 39 degrees Celsius at the Estádio Castelão, which prompted Portuguese referee Pedro Proença to implement the "cooling break" to allow the players to rehydrate in the first half of the game.
The break might have been a factor in the match, as the Oranje was able to turn around their initial 1-0 loss to a 2-1 victory against the Mexicans, earning them a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals.
