The lightning rule that threatens the World Cup came from a tragedy in Nascar

The interruption by electrical storms that halted the game between France and Iraq for more than two hours on Monday night in Philadelphia has an unlikely origin for those who follow the 2026 World Cup: a Nascar tragedy. With France leading 1-0, with a goal by Mbappé, the match was interrupted at halftime because of lightning in the area of Lincoln Financial Field — the first stoppage due to bad weather of the Cup.

The game was only resumed shortly after 8 pm, adding up to about two hours and ten minutes of waiting. The safety protocol that forced the parade is the same that, since the death of a spectator struck by lightning at an American racetrack in 2012, has been rigorously applied at major sporting events in the USA.

The principle is simple and rigid: if lightning is detected within a radius of eight miles (about 13 km) from the stadium, the game must stop for at least 30 minutes; With each new discharge within this perimeter during the countdown, the timer is reset, and the cycle repeats until the storm passes. That is, it is not the intensity of the rain that interrupts the match, but the electrical activity.

In a statement, FIFA made it clear that it does not intend to contest the protocol. The entity said that it will follow the safety protocols defined by the local authorities and that the games will always resume as soon as it is safe.

The origin of the rule

The pressure to apply this standard rigorously at major American events is rooted in a motorsport tragedy. On August 5, 2012, during the NASCAR round in Pocono (Pennsylvania), 41-year-old fan Brian Zimmerman died from a lightning strike in the parking lot of the track; Nine other people were injured. The race was only stopped 42 minutes after storm warnings were issued. CBS NewsWikipedia

The episode led the U.S. motorsport governing bodies, meeting in the ACCUS-FIA — which includes NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA and NHRA — to adopt lightning rules in line with those of other sports, with the same eight-mile perimeter to empty the grandstands. It is worth the caveat: the orientation was not born there. The National Weather Service’s “30-30 rule” already existed as a general recommendation — to seek shelter for at least 30 minutes. The Pocono case only accelerated its formal adoption.

For the Cup, the risk is concrete because the tournament takes place at the height of the storm season in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s not the first time: at the 2025 Club World Cup, six games were affected by electrical storms, including a Chelsea-Benfica match in Charlotte that ended almost four and a half hours after it started.

Also on Monday, the duel between Norway and Senegal, in New Jersey, was also at risk of being delayed by time. With headquarters in the South and East Coast of the USA, regions with a high incidence of lightning, new stoppages are expected throughout the first phase and even the grand finale, which will take place in an open field at the New York-New Jersey headquarters.