The Cure’s Robert Smith mocks “Gianni Infantosser” and World Cup final half-time show
It’s safe to say that The Cure won’t be making a surprise appearance at the World Cup final half-time show after Robert Smith’s latest comments.
For the first time in history, the World Cup final will have a half-time show on July 19th, which will complete the Americanisation of the tournament, as it looks to replicate the Super Bowl.
FIFA are even prepared to break the laws of the game for it to happen, which states that players are entitled to a break “not exceeding 15 minutes”, with the half-time show set to last between 20 to 25 minutes.
Chris Martin has curated the line-up for the performance, which will see K-pop stars BTS perform, as well as Madonna, Justin Bieber, Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus featuring Coldplay.
If that wasn’t enough music for a sporting event, there will also be performances from Post Malone, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams and IShowSpeed, plus a guest appearance from Tom Cruise, at the closing ceremony.
Taking to Instagram, Smith shared the description for the event along with a slight-name change for FIFA chief Gianna Infantino, “‘The half-time show, which has been curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, will feature Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira and the K‑pop boyband BTS. Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantosser, has described the half-time show as ‘groundbreaking spectacle’ that will ‘celebrate football, music and our shared values, ensuring a legacy that transcends the final whistle’.”
He then let out a scream, writing, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH…”
Smith then used the hashtags “breadandcircuses”, “mugwank”, and finally, “pleasejustfuckoff”, to hammer home precisely his thoughts.
Poignantly, the image used by Smith was the famous ‘Pale Blue Dot’ photograph taken by NASA’s Voyager 1 in 1990, which shows the Earth from 3.7 billion miles away.
Smith isn’t the only British musician who has spoken out against the half-time show, with Noel Gallagher, who does have tickets to the game, previously scathingly saying he won’t be watching before adding, “They’re not really football people who are performing anyway, are they?”
The Cure thankfully have a busy weekend ahead to distract Smith away from the half-time show. Tonight, they will perform at Phill Good Festival in Bulgaria, and on July 19th, the date of the final, they will headline Electric Castle in Romania.
Next month, they return to the UK for a show at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester on August 21st and a performance at the Edinburgh Summer Sessions on August 23rd.
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