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During the monumental defeat of Brazil on 8 July 2014, some people jokingly said on Twitter that Holland and Argentina should hope that the Brazil fans storm the field and lynch both teams (their own team for disappointing them so much and the Germans for revenge). Of course this would never happen because it would be terribly unsportsmanlike, not to mention a gigantic smear on the reputation of the country.

But what if that actually would have happened? What if the fans of a heavily losing team storm the field and attack the winning team, incapacitating some of their players? Does the FIFA have rules for such an occurence?

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  • If some German players are injured by Brazilian fans, the Fifa can punish the Brazil federation but I can't see how the Fifa can punish either the Dutch or Argentine federation - maybe except if it's prove that the Dutch or Argentine federation deliberately order this kind of attack. – AnthonyLeGovic Jul 9 '14 at 9:50
  • The Holland and Argentina joke was mainly because it meant they wouldn't have to face Germany in the finals, or at least not with the current team setup. with "reputation of the country", I'm referring to Brazil's reputation. I'm not implying that the Dutch or Argentine would have any involvement in the attack. I'm implying that if Germany was substantially weakened, it would be a substantial improvement in the chances of the other finalist. – Nzall Jul 9 '14 at 10:02
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    I don't think there are any grounds for restitution in FIFA's disciplinary regulations - it's all focused on punishment. If this hypothetical had unfolded, Brazil would be fined and suspended. The following matches may be re-scheduled (giving them time to recover) and played in a different stadium (even in a different country). They may even have their FIFA membership terminated if it was extremely serious. – Reinstate Monica 2331977 Jul 9 '14 at 12:31
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Not from a FIFA competition, but from the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), the top African football competition for national teams, organised by CAF.

The Togo national team suffered an attack - not on the field, but while travelling by bus. 3 dead (one staff member) and 7 wounded (2 players, 2 staff members).

The team withdrew to Togo, asked for a boycott and missed the first match. Later they asked to rejoin the competition but were considered as disqualified.

Later Togo was banned by CAF from the next two editions of the CAN. Togo appealed and the ban was lifted.

(I am summarising from the Wikipedia's articles on the attack and on the competition. A three sentence summary can not explain such a complex situation, so read them, please)

I do not recall nor the articles make any note to any offer to delay Togo's matches for a couple of days or any compensation whatsoever.

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