2026 World Cup: “Preemptive Censorship” Doesn’t Escape Fans’ Notice—Social Media Explodes

The first match of Group K at the World Cup, which saw Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal draw against the surprising Democratic Republic of the Congo, was accompanied by a curious decision on the part of the Italian television production team. It was a preemptive—and almost inevitable—decision to avoid irony and jokes of questionable taste, even though the move did not go unnoticed by fans on social media, where it still sparked thousands of comments and sarcastic remarks.

The scoreboard, in fact, displayed non-standard abbreviations for the two national teams, rather than the classic ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes used internationally (not only in sports but also, for example, in passports). Portugal was not “Por” but “Prt,” and the Democratic Republic of the Congo was not “Cod” but “Cng.” In fact, if the standard abbreviations had been displayed side by side, they could have caused embarrassment, as they might have been associated with a profane expression; therefore, DAZN’s production team opted for the alternative solution.

This isn’t the first time Italian TV networks have intervened to avoid awkward abbreviations. This has been happening for years, for example, with Cagliari vs. Atalanta, where the three-letter abbreviations for both teams are regularly replaced with alternatives such as “Ca” or “Cg” and “At” or “Atl.” A small graphic tweak that has become routine.

In the case of Portugal vs. the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the decision was made to prevent memes, jokes, and double entendres that could have not only caused embarrassment but also sparked controversy. This was more of an image-related choice than a technical one, confirming that the management of television graphics must now also take into account the sensitivity (and speed) of social media. Which, as always, reacted immediately, not holding back on the sarcasm.