FIFA president shares real financial impact of controversial hydration breaks

The World Cup has been an exciting yet controversial one for several reasons, with the hydration breaks perhaps the biggest irk for many fans in stadiums and at home.

Although we've seen some cracking games at times, not counting last night's snooze fest between England and Ghana, every game has been interrupted due to the scheduled hydration breaks, which we only normally see in England when it's either extremely hot, or a player is allowed to break his fast during Ramadan.

However, at the World Cup it's been a constant in both the first and second halves of games, apart from after the two hour delay during the France Iraq game earlier this week, which has been met with a chorus of boos both inside the grounds, and in the pubs that we're watching from at home.

It's quickly become clear that these hydration breaks are not to protect the players, since many of the games are actually taking place in air-conditioned stadiums where conditions have probably never been nicer.

Instead, it seems to be an American desire to divide everything apart from their food into quarters, especially when it comes with a financial incentive, with some matches even delayed from restarting since the advertising breaks on our screens hadn't quite finished.

The breaks also allow managers to get tactical advice across (Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

Despite the outrage that has been raised from players, managers and fans, Gianni Infantino has now come out to insist that FIFA is not benefiting at all from this change of rules.

He said: "There is no additional revenue for Fifa, as all commercial agreements were signed well in advance.

"This is not a financial issue for us. For us, it is purely a sporting matter."

Infantino added: "The main reason [for the breaks] is the heat, but we also have to understand that in a competition like the World Cup, played over 39 days, with teams potentially playing eight matches in those 39 days, having a moment to rest is extremely important.

"What matters even more to us is ensuring that all teams, in every match, are playing under the same conditions.

"And it's very difficult to accept that a coach might have the opportunity to influence a match by making adjustments simply because it is hotter, while in another match, where the temperature is slightly lower, the same coach does not have the same opportunity.

Most football fans aren't too keen on them ( Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)

"We want to ensure equal conditions for everyone and that's why these breaks are implemented in every match."

In a completely unrelated matter, statistics have suggested that advertisers could make around $250m (£189m) in the US alone during hydration breaks.

So, it seems as if we're going to have to put up with them for the rest of the tournament, even if everyone seems to be on board with the fact that they're disrupting the games for no real reason.