One of the more unusual storylines to emerge from the FIFA World Cup 2026 has nothing to do with tactics, goals, or refereeing decisions. It concerns the shirts players are wearing — and, in an increasing number of cases, the shirts they are being forced to change out of.

Four players have had their match jerseys torn during the tournament so far, with three of those tears severe enough to force the player off the field to find a replacement. In every single case, the shirt in question was manufactured by Puma.

The incidents so far

The first incident came on the tournament's opening night. Czech Republic midfielder Pavel Sulc had a large hole ripped in his jersey after a South Korea defender grabbed and pulled him back just 25 minutes into the match.

Next came the USA v Paraguay fixture, where Paraguayan defender Gustavo Gomez's shirt was torn down the side within eight minutes, the result of a tussle with USA striker Folarin Balogun. Gomez initially tucked the torn fabric into his shorts and played on before eventually changing his jersey.

In the Belgium v Egypt match, Egyptian winger Mustafa Zico's shirt split horizontally across the middle after Belgium defender Maxim de Cuyper pulled him down.

Most recently, Morocco midfielder Neil el Aynaoui had his shirt torn across the centre while waiting for a corner kick early in the second half against Scotland. Centre-back Jack Hendry was the culprit — and El Aynaoui was so aggrieved that he showed the referee the rip while attempting to argue for a penalty.

Crucially, in all four incidents the tears were caused by opposing players pulling on the jersey. Shirts produced by other manufacturers appear to have withstood similar contact without incident.

The fabric at the centre of the controversy

The Puma jerseys in question are produced using a material the German company markets as Ultraweave. The fabric is designed to be featherlight and to minimise friction during play — Puma markets it as