TV feed cuts out and buzzes during Scotland's first World Cup match in 28 years

A world-feed failure disrupted television coverage of Scotland’s 2026 World Cup opener against Haiti at Gillette Stadium in Boston on Saturday, cutting visuals and replacing them with a harsh buzzing sound for roughly 10 seconds shortly after Scotland took the lead.

The outage came at a particularly charged moment. Scott McTominay had already rattled the post before John McGinn’s deflected effort gave Steve Clarke’s side a 1-0 lead in the first half — Scotland’s first World Cup goal in 28 years — and the atmosphere inside the stadium was already at fever pitch when screens at home went dark.

BBC commentary quickly acknowledged the problem once the feed was restored. “Apologies again if there’s been a loss of pictures,” the team said on air. “It’s been a world-feed problem, so everyone suffered it, but we’re back now.”

The incident was brief but landed at a historically significant juncture. Scotland’s men’s national team had not appeared at a World Cup since France 1998, making Saturday’s Group C fixture against Haiti their first in a generation.

The match followed the earlier Group C opener in which Brazil drew 1-1 with Morocco. Brazil are chasing a record-extending fifth World Cup title, while Morocco — who reached the semi-finals in Qatar in 2022 — are again considered potential dark horses in the tournament.

Scotland will have been encouraged by their start, not least because McTominay was able to feature having recovered from a stomach bug in the build-up to the game.