Well this is interesting. Apparently the cooling breaks were a result of Brazilian labor laws
http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2014/0...ooling-breaks/
Quote:
A Brazilian labor court on Friday ruled cooling breaks during World Cup matches are obligatory when temperatures soar, challenging FIFA, the tournament’s organizer.
Judge Rogerio Neiva ruled that players must be given breaks when the ambient temperature – which takes into account humidity, wind and actual temperature – exceeds 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit).
The judge accepted the recommendation of labor prosecutor Pinheiro Valdir Pereira da Silva, who’d argued that players should be given breaks after about 30 minutes of play in each of the two 45-minute halves of a soccer match. FIFA faces a fine of 200,000 Brazilian reais (about $90,000) for every match where there is no break.
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Of course FIFA could afford the fines, but I guess they decided that it's not a bad idea as such, and that blatantly disobeying court orders would be uncool.