"That World Cup of crap": the outburst on air by Ariel Rodríguez that was clarified

Journalist Ariel Rodríguez had an awkward moment during the TyC Sports broadcast covering the 2026 World Cup. It all happened before the match between Argentina and Austria at the impressive AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

While the program was showing images of the fans, the sound engineer accidentally left the host's microphone open. He was heard saying a phrase that quickly went viral: "Those big guys you like, in this shitty World Cup." The comment generated a wave of reactions on social media.

Rodríguez quickly came out to clarify what happened. He recorded a video explaining the context and assuring that it was a slip. "I was told that the phrase 'shitty World Cup' went live, talking about the internal situation," he recounted.

The journalist's explanation

The communicator detailed that it was part of a casual conversation with his colleague. "It's an internal joke we have every day, it's not what I think nor did I say it on air. It was a phrase that slipped out in passing," he indicated. He clarified that in those informal conversations, they talk about both good and bad play.

"I say that in this World Cup, there are a couple of teams that, being many, take advantage of that and end up scoring a lot of goals," Rodríguez added. However, he insisted that it is a very good tournament and that the comment did not reflect his real opinion.

The journalist wanted to make it clear that he was not trying to create controversy. "We are talking about a very good World Cup, and it was simply an internal joke with my colleague, it's not what I think," he concluded.

The incident occurred live, in one of the most important stadiums in the United States, where the Argentine National Team was playing the second match of the group stage. The sound error exposed a private conversation that was not meant for the public.

Social media quickly picked up on the moment. Users shared the audio and commented on the outburst, which forced Rodríguez to give public explanations to calm the waters.