FIFA refuses to follow Jerry Jones’ lead as – Sports News
FIFA could have inadvertently angered Jerry Jones (Image: Getty Images)
FIFA could have inadvertently angered Jerry Jones by making a modification to AT&T Stadium that the Dallas Cowboys proprietor has steadfastly opposed for years.
Sharp-eyed spectators watching Thursday’s World Cup conflict between Japan and Sweden at AT&T Stadium — quickly renamed Arlington Stadium for this 12 months’s event — noticed one thing uncommon: the absence of solar glare on the sphere. FIFA and the City of Arlington achieved this by putting in large blackout curtains over the towering home windows alongside the stadium’s west finish zone.
The venue’s controversial architectural function has plagued late-afternoon NFL video games with blinding daylight since AT&T Stadium’s 2009 opening. Despite persistent appeals from gamers and supporters to add everlasting window coverings, Jones has persistently declined.
Adding to the frustration, these curtains have beforehand been deployed for different main occasions held on the $1.3 billion facility, together with WWE’s WrestleMania and the 2024 boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.
According to a source educated about FIFA’s operations who spoke with The Dallas Morning News this week, the worldwide soccer physique will collaborate with AT&T Stadium officers to decide whether or not the blackout curtains are mandatory for upcoming World Cup fixtures.
The curtains have beforehand been deployed for different main occasions held on the $1.3 billion facility (Image: Getty Images)
However, the remaining eight matches scheduled at Arlington Stadium are slated for both early afternoon or night kickoffs after sundown, which can probably render the window coverings out of date. On a number of events, Jones has vehemently rejected ideas that curtains are mandatory during Cowboys home video games.
During Dallas’ 34-6 defeat to the Eagles in November 2024, star large receiver CeeDee Lamb missed a wide-open landing cross as a result of he misplaced sight of the ball. Discussing the incident at his postgame press convention, he acknowledged: “I couldn’t see the ball. Couldn’t see the ball at all. The sun.”
When requested whether or not he would back group management putting in curtains to forestall the solar from interfering during late afternoon video games, the 27-year-old replied emphatically: “1,000 percent.”
The feedback clearly irritated Jones, who responded sharply to his participant’s complaints during a media session. “Well, let’s tear the damn stadium down and build another one? Are you kidding me?” he mentioned.
“Everybody has got the same thing. Every team that comes in here has the same issues. I’m saying, the world knows where the sun is. You get to know that almost a year in advance. Someone asked me about the sun. What about the sun? Where’s the moon?”
“By the way, we know where the sun is going to be when we decide to flip the coin or not,” he added. “We do know where the damn sun is going to be in our own stadium.”
Addressing persistent considerations about AT&T Stadium back in 2022, Jones additionally remarked in a 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] interview: “I wish to hell all I had to worry about was a ball hitting the screen or a little sun getting in there.
“Conditions and components have been a half of soccer because it was spelled the primary time. No. That’s about 10,000 on my checklist of issues to fear about. And, no, we’re not going to do something with it.”
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