I know, I know, it was Rooney for whom Spanish-speaking World Cup referees prepared by memorizing a list of English obscenities, so the English striker couldn’t lay in to them as he had other field officials during the run-ups.

So maybe Rooney isn’t a very good Catholic.

But he did show up to a training session with his crucifix and rosary some days ago, and those other World Cup officials—the kind who enforce every rule that has nothing to do with, say, teams having marvelous goals taken away without explanation—stepped in. Uh-uh, no religion allowed.

All this may leave World Cup officials in more than a fix a few weeks down the line here. That is, if the seeds play out and Brazil wins the Cup. Because, well, the Brazilians these days are praying, preaching athletes. They want you to know that they belong to Jesus. At least that’s what the shirt midfielder Kaka has been known to wear under his jersey says. How do we know this? Because the man that FIFA’s own site describes as “firmly established as one of the finest players in the world” does what most soccer stars do after a match—he takes off his jersey. But instead of his showing his chiseled musculature or his tatted skin, Kaka uses this moisture-wicking billboard to announce his beliefs. His religious beliefs.