The FIFA World Cup is always a roller coaster of emotion. We root for our favorite teams, boo when the referees make terrible decisions and feel a deep, unalienable sense of nationalistic pride when our team fights for a win, despite all odds.
Yet with all of the success and thrills presented by the World Cup every four years, the tournament’s seedy underbelly is hard to conceal. From increasingly violent demonstrations to brutal player-on-player contact to a thriving demand for prostitutes, it has an undeniable dark side. These shocking images explore the dark realities of the booming phenomenon that is the 2014 FIFA World Cup:
Demonstrators continue to protest the Brazil World Cup games. Source: Imgur
Street art conveys the anti-World Cup sentiment running rampant throughout the streets of Brazil. Source: Slate
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez is fined for the third time in his career for biting an opponent.
Prostitutes in Brazil learn English in preparation for the 2014 World Cup. Source: NY Daily News
Protesters hold up red cards to signify their opposition to the 2014 World Cup.
Brazil has taken lengthy security precautions to reduce violence during the World Cup.
Rio de Janeiro’s impoverished slums are a steep contrast to the excess of the World Cup.
The Ivory Coast’s Giovanni Sio fouls Greece’s Giorgos Samaras, giving the team a free penalty kick.
Rio de Janeiro is one of the oldest and largest Red Light Districts in the world.
Street art conveys the complaints of Brazilians who do not support the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Security teams and military troops flock to Brazil to control protests and fans during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Though troops were sent to Rio de Janeiro to shake up nearby drug dealers and criminals, the streets are still largely unsafe.
Portugal’s Pepe gets a yellow card after arguing with Thomas Muller in the game against Germany.
People flee through clouds of tear gas in a June 20th protest.
Sex workers prepare for the surge of tourists at the World Cup.
Pepe (Portugal) fouls Germany’s Thomas Mueller and is sent off of the field.
Troops raid a pre-World Cup Rio de Janeiro to reduce violent activity in the city’s slums.
Nigeria’s Michael Babatunde is taken away on a stretcher after being injured on the field.
Anti-FIFA protests turn dangerous as demonstrators clash with police.
Italy’s Giorigo Chiellini is bitten by a member of the Uruguay team.
Masses of people stage anti-FIFA and anti-government protests throughout Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities.
And for more on the dark side of the 2014 World Cup, check out Vice's series Contra A Copa: The Other Side of Brazil's World Cup:
Kiri Picone holds a B.A. in English and creative writing from Pepperdine University and has been writing for various digital publishers for more than 10 years.
Savannah Cox holds a Master's in International Affairs from The New School as well as a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and now serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Sheffield. Her work as a writer has also appeared on DNAinfo.
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Picone, Kiri. "21 Shocking Images That Uncover The World Cup’s Dark Side." AllThatsInteresting.com, June 29, 2014, https://allthatsinteresting.com/world-cup-dark-side. Accessed May 18, 2025.
