Argentina’s 11 World Cup controversies as FIFA make punishment decision | Football | Sport

July 21, 2026 4,002

Argentina players with a banner referencing the Falkland Islands

Argentina celebrated with a controversial Falkland Islands banner after defeating England (Image: Getty Images)

Argentina went from defending champions to underdogs to a disgrace all in the matter of a few weeks at the World Cup. When the final whistle blew to signal Spain the new winners, chaos ensued as Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina were involved in physical altercations with their opponents on the pitch.

Reaction to Ferran Torres’ winner saw embarrassing scenes break out at full-time, which FIFA have now decided to investigate and are due to announce a verdict swiftly. A statement read: “Following an assessment of the relevant match reports for the FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, the FIFA disciplinary committee has appointed a disciplinary and ethics prosecutor to investigate potential breaches of the FIFA disciplinary code with regard to the post-match incidents.”

Alongside allegations of violent conduct, the disciplinary and ethics prosecutor will assist in determining whether Argentina violated Article 13 of the disciplinary code, which relates to offensive behaviour and the principles of fair play.

Serious violations have previously resulted in lengthy bans, which could be handed down to any Argentine players or staff members found to have broken the regulations.

Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales received a three-year ban for kissing Jenni Hermoso following the Women’s World Cup final. Luis Suarez was also notoriously handed a four-month suspension for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup.

Argentina were already facing scrutiny ahead of the World Cup final, with numerous controversies trailing them throughout the competition. Here, Express Sport take a look at all of them…

World Cup final scenes

Midfielder Paredes, whose reported post-match red card has been erased from FIFA’s official records, shoved Spain defender Eric Garcia’s throat before aiming a kick at him. He was also embroiled in an altercation with Gavi, whom he grabbed before shoving him to the turf.

The post-match disorder appeared to begin after Argentina defender Nahuel Molina seemingly struck Spain captain Rodri in the abdomen. The Manchester City midfielder had rushed onto the pitch to celebrate with his colleagues, but paused to challenge Molina following the incident.

Additional controversy has subsequently come to light, as footage revealed Argentina icon and current assistant manager Roberto Ayala appearing to launch a punch at Spain’s Dani Olmo after the match. These three incidents have cast a shadow over the World Cup final and Argentina were implicated in several other disputed moments during the competition.

Messi and Mac Allister escape punishment

Lionel Messi launched his World Cup campaign with a hat-trick against Algeria but the Argentine legend was perhaps lucky to remain on the field shortly after netting his first goal. The experienced striker appeared to press his studs into the right leg of opposition defender Aissa Mandi.

Messi escaped a yellow card for the tackle from Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, while VAR opted against intervention as it was not considered worthy of a red card.

Algeria later filed a complaint regarding alleged substandard officiating. Their grievance also drew attention to an incident involving Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, who similarly avoided punishment after catching Ibrahim Maza in the face with his elbow in the 74th minute.

Mac Allister incident vs Austria

Mac Allister became the focal point of debate again during Argentina’s second group fixture against Austria. Messi broke the deadlock in a 2-0 triumph, surpassing Miroslav Klose’s tally for World Cup goals.

Nevertheless, his record-breaking goal arguably should not have counted. Replays seemed to show Mac Allister fouling Austria’s Xaver Schlager to regain possession for Argentina in the build-up to the strike, yet VAR chose not to intervene.

Leandro Paredes and Gavi of Spain

Argentina’s Leandro Paredes was involved in post-match confrontations. (Image: Getty Images)

Egypt controversies

Argentina needed an extraordinary fightback to secure a 3-2 win over Egypt in the round of 16. Yet Egypt believed their prospects of advancing to the quarter-finals had been undermined by two officiating decisions.

The Pharaohs had a goal controversially disallowed following VAR involvement. After reviewing the incident, referee Francois Letexier determined that Marwan Ateya had committed a foul on Lisandro Martinez at the beginning of Egypt’s attacking sequence at the opposite end of the field.

Yet late on, Egypt were refused a spot-kick for an apparent foul on Mohamed Salah moments before Argentina’s decisive goal. Egypt lodged an official complaint to FIFA regarding both decisions and boss Hossam Hassan didn’t hold back in expressing his views.

He said: “Why isn’t there any fairness in sport? In football? I do not want to try to put it nicely here with beautiful wording. We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice.”

Mistaken identity

Argentina profited from one of the new regulations introduced at the World Cup during their quarter-final triumph over Switzerland. Portuguese official Joao Pinheir had originally brandished a yellow card to Paredes.

Yet that call was overturned under the new ‘mistaken identity’ regulation after replays revealed that Breel Embolo had dived, with the caution given to the Swiss attacker instead. Cruelly for Embolo, he had already received a booking and was dismissed during a pivotal fixture in extraordinary fashion.

Questions were raised regarding the application of the mistaken identity rule in this particular instance, which transformed the incident from a foul by Paredes into simulation by Embolo. UEFA has since directed its officials not to classify potential simulations as cases of mistaken identity.

UEFA maintains that mistaken identity ought to be reserved for factual decisions, applied to the same offence and should not necessitate on-field reviews, whereas simulation represents a subjective judgement requiring referees to reassess the incident.

England incidents

England endured a semi-final loss to Argentina following two late goals. Beyond the scrutiny surrounding Thomas Tuchel’s tactical approach, the match was overshadowed by two significant post-match episodes.

During Argentina’s pitch celebrations, numerous players displayed a banner that read: “Las Malvinas son Argentinas (The Falklands are Argentine).”

A reference to the British overseas territory and the 1982 Falklands War, FIFA is examining the matter and Argentinian officials are said to be anticipating a fine of $20,000.

Following the final whistle, Jude Bellingham was also observed confronting Argentina’s Valentin Barco. Bellingham seemed to strike Barco, though the precise cause of the confrontation remains unclear.

Barco had already riled England players earlier in the match with his antics following Argentina’s winning goal. After the final whistle, Bellingham had shaken hands with an Argentine player before noticing Barco joining a group of his team-mates, at which point the pair exchanged words.