Caitlin Clark was assessed with her first technical foul of the season on Wednesday night after a heated exchange with a referee.

During the Indiana Fever’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks, with 20 seconds remaining in the first half, Clark was called for an offensive foul, giving Los Angeles possession.

Clark later walked over to referee Jason Alabanza and appeared to engage in a verbal spat.

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Alabanza gave Clark a technical before Indiana headed to the visiting locker room for halftime.

Still, the Fever went on to win 87-78.

Clark now has nine technicals in her WNBA career, with six in her rookie season and two in an injury-plagued 2025.

Clark appears to have had a combative dynamic with referees since the beginning of her professional career. In the Fever’s season-opening loss to the Dallas Wings, Clark appeared to suggest certain fouls were not called on her throughout the game.

CAITLIN CLARK’S COACH SUGGESTS STAR OFFERED TO PAY FINE FOR TECHNICAL FOUL OVER YELLING AT WNBA OFFICIALS

“I think especially if they’re going to call it the way they’re going to call it this year, I think I honestly could have probably got a couple more calls on a few of them, but that’s okay,” Clark said to reporters after the game when asked about plays when she drove to the basket on Saturday.

Whether officials are calling enough fouls against Clark has been a point of controversy since she entered the league in 2024. Many fans complained that Clark was frequently being targeted with hard contact by opposing players and referees weren’t doing enough to protect her.

Meanwhile, Clark came one technical foul shy of taking a one-game suspension during her rookie year.

Clark herself has also made comments seemingly directed at referees in the WNBA. During the WNBA postseason in September, while Clark was injured, she said she was fined $200 for tweeting “Refs couldn’t stop us” after Indiana’s Game 2 win over Atlanta in the first round.

“Got fined $200 for this lol,” she wrote on X, adding a series of crying laughter emojis. “BENCH MOB WILL BE EVEN MORE ROWDY TOMORROW LETS GOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Clark was previously seen getting into disagreements with referees during a game against the Connecticut Sun last July.

“Are you f—-ing kidding me?” Clark appeared to say while Fever assistant Briann January dragged her back to the bench.

As officials continued to look at the replay, the ESPN broadcast showed Clark yelling over toward the officials again: “That’s just rude. Grow up. Come here, come here. Unbelievable.”

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The world’s largest sporting event, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, is just a few weeks away, returning to North America and the United States for the first time since 1994. 

FIFA announced their first ever halftime show for the World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. In a post on X, featuring Elmo, Coldplay announced that the halftime show would be curated by lead singer Chris Martin and feature BTS, Madonna and Shakira. Shakira is set to release the official song of the World Cup, “Dai Dai,” later Thursday.

The show will also “raise funds for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund,” dedicated to “improving access to quality education and football for children around the world.”

FOX broadcasts the entire tournament, with opening matches kicking off on June 11 in Mexico. El Tri hosts South Africa in Mexico City, while South Korea takes on Croatia in Guadalajara.

Then the next day, the other two hosts play their first group stage matches. Canada plays Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto in Group B. Then the US Men’s National Team, coming off a rocky past few months of friendlies, plays its first match against Paraguay in Los Angeles. They then head to Seattle to play Australia on June 19, before closing out the group stage against Turkey back in LA on June 25.

Unsurprisingly, given the scale and scope of the tournament, and the stage hosting in the US offers, FIFA is pulling out all the entertainment stops.

KATY PERRY TO HEADLINE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP OPENING CEREMONY AS FANS DEBATE WHETHER SHE’S THE RIGHT PICK

Already, soccer’s governing body has set up an extensive list of entertainment to kick off the tournament in the host countries. An opening ceremony in Los Angeles on June 12 will feature music acts like Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla. 

“This opening ceremony in Los Angeles represents the extraordinary scale of what the FIFA World Cup 2026 will become,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement. “The lineup of artists reflects the cultural diversity of the United States and the vibrancy of its many diasporas, highlighting the nation’s rich influence on music, entertainment and pop culture, while showcasing the power of music to bring people together across the country.”

That ceremony will kick off 90 minutes before the start of the US match, and will complement two additional opening ceremonies in Canada and Mexico. The opening match in Toronto will feature performances by Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Elyanna, Jessie Reyez, Michael Bublé, Nora Fatehi, Sanjoy, Vegedream and William Prince.

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In Mexico, opening ceremony headliners include Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Danny Ocean, J Balvin, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules, Maná and Tyla.

Prior performers at World Cup finals include stars like Carlos Santana and Wycleaf Jean at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. Will Smith was among those who sang at the 2018 finale in Russia, and Davido, Aisha, Ozuna were part of the 2022 closing ceremony in Qatar.

Over 100 matches. 16 cities hosting in three countries. Over a month’s worth of action, culminating in a momentous finale in New Jersey. The World Cup never fails to deliver.