Vatican says no ‘two popes final’ for fifa World Cup

Football-mad Pope Francis ‘might’ watch the World Cup final on Sunday between his native Argentina and Germany but is unlikely to do so alongside his German predecessor Benedict XVI contrary to media speculation, the Vatican said. ‘He might want to watch the final,’ Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said of Francis, formerly the archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Bergoglio, a fan and card-carrying member of the San Lorenzo de Almagro club since childhood. But a Vatican source said he ‘excluded categorically’ the prospect of pope emeritus Benedict XVI, an academic theologian with a penchant for classical piano, sitting down in front of his television set to watch the face-off. ‘It’s really not his thing, he is not a fan. It would be like inflicting an infinite penitence on him at the age of 87,’ the source said, adding: ‘He has never been able to watch a football match from beginning to end in his life.’ Benedict did like to keep informed on football results while he was pope and could at least comment on the big matches but he did not follow his home team, Bayern Munich.