There is a physical perimeter around every stadium at this World Cup and once you pass through, there are rules. Welcome to Fifa-Land. No large banners. No political imagery of any kind. No offensive symbols. No commercial material. No inflatables. No musical instruments taller than 12cm. No binoculars. No significant quantities of paper, which is left open to interpretation. No frisbees. No detonators, which is reassuring.
Inside, organisers have gone to extraordinary lengths to cleanse stadiums of all unofficial branding in order to meet Fifa’s “clean-site” policy, a kind of sanitised insanity that feels entirely in-keeping with the general ethos of football’s global governing body.
