Last Updated on 1 week ago by TodayWhy Editorial
Update, July 30, 2026: FIFA has moved from investigating to formally charging Argentina. The federation now faces disciplinary proceedings covering the Malvinas banner, discriminatory chants, security failures across multiple matches, and a separate assault case against three team members from the brawl after the final. The original pre-final reporting is preserved below; the “What Has FIFA Actually Done Since the Final?” section covers what’s new.
Argentina went into the World Cup final against Spain as the two-time defending champion, with Lionel Messi playing what he’d said would be his last World Cup match. It should have been a straightforward story about a legend’s send-off. Instead, Argentina spent the tournament’s final week at the center of two separate controversies that had nothing to do with the scoreline.
One was a banner. The other was a petition signed by more than 13 million people. Here is why people were talking about both at the time, what’s happened since, and what FIFA is doing about it now.
Why do people dislike Argentina at the World Cup?
Two things happened in the space of a few days before the final. After Argentina beat England 2-1 in the semi-final, players unfurled a banner reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” — “The Malvinas are Argentine” — on the pitch, reviving the decades-old dispute over the Falkland Islands. That drew an official UK government complaint.
Separately, and on a different track entirely, a wave of fans and rival federations accused FIFA of favoring Argentina and Messi throughout the tournament, centered on contested refereeing calls in Argentina’s round-of-16 win over Egypt. That complaint snowballed into an online petition with more than 13 million signatures calling for Argentina’s disqualification.
The Malvinas banner: what happened, and why it was against the rules
During post-match celebrations after the England semi-final, Argentine players held up a banner handed to them by fans in the stands. Argentina refers to the Falklands as “Las Malvinas,” a claim rooted in the two countries’ 1982 war over the islands, which Britain won.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson called for FIFA to investigate, saying the World Cup may not be Britain’s, but the Falkland Islands definitely are. Business Secretary Peter Kyle called the players’ behavior “entirely inappropriate.”
FIFA had real grounds to act. Its disciplinary code bans any stadium message that is “political, ideological, religious, or offensive,” and fines for this kind of violation typically run from $5,000 to $20,000. This wasn’t Argentina’s first time crossing that line, either: FIFA fined the Argentine federation 30,000 Swiss francs for displaying the identical banner before a warm-up friendly against Slovenia in June, just days before the tournament started. The team did it twice in the same World Cup cycle.
There’s an international precedent for real punishment, too. In 2012, South Korean player Park Jong-woo was banned for two World Cup qualifiers after holding up a banner over a territorial dispute with Japan at the Olympics. Argentina defender Lisandro Martínez, who plays his club football in England, defended the gesture, saying the team could not let the Argentine public down. For the longer history behind the claim itself — not the World Cup version of it — see our explainer on why Argentina claims the Falkland Islands.
What Has FIFA Actually Done Since the Final?
Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time on July 19 to win the tournament. Roughly a week and a half later, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee announced it had opened formal proceedings against the Argentine Football Association — a step up from the informal investigation that was pending when this article was first published.
The charges are broader than just the banner. FIFA cited potential breaches of four separate articles of its disciplinary code: using a sports event for non-sporting demonstrations, team misconduct, discrimination and racist abuse, and failing to maintain order and security at matches. The federation’s statement referenced “discriminatory chants and gestures, late kick-offs, failure to comply with match and security protocols, the display of inappropriate messages by the team and spectators and the throwing of objects by spectators” across several Argentina matches, not just the England semi-final.
FIFA also opened a separate case over what happened immediately after the final whistle in the championship match itself. Argentina players Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina, along with assistant coach Roberto Ayala, are now facing assault-related disciplinary proceedings after a fracas broke out with Spain players Rodri, Eric García, and Gavi. Paredes was sent off during the match for a clash with García, and Molina reportedly took a swing at Spain’s captain after the final whistle. If found guilty, all three face potential lengthy suspensions. Everyone named in the proceedings has been given the chance to respond before FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee issues a ruling.
The favoritism claims: what actually happened against Egypt
The second controversy was unrelated to the banner and started earlier in the tournament. Argentina trailed Egypt 2-0 in the round of 16 before scoring twice in the final 13 minutes to win 3-2. Egypt’s coach, Hossam Hassan, suggested afterward that the referee had been under pressure to keep Argentina in the tournament. The Egyptian federation filed a formal complaint against the French referee.
Two decisions drove the anger. A would-be second Egyptian goal was ruled out after a VAR review for an earlier foul. And a shirt-pull on an Egyptian player just before Argentina’s winning goal was not reviewed at all. Some independent match officials, cited in German sports media, called the no-call inconsistent with how similar incidents were handled elsewhere in the tournament.
FIFA’s head of refereeing, Pierluigi Collina, defended both calls, saying the VAR process followed protocol correctly. Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni, rejected any suggestion of match-fixing outright, pointing out that video review makes pre-arranged results essentially impossible to pull off. Former manager José Mourinho was harsher, calling the result “daylight robbery” — his opinion, not a ruling.
The petition, hosted at a site called argentinaout.com, passed 13 million signatures demanding Argentina be thrown out of the tournament, though it never had any formal standing with FIFA. A close look by German outlet neunzigplus.de concluded that no bias is actually documented — each individual call is defensible on its own, and tight decisions cluster randomly in small samples too. What is documented, in their reading, is something else: FIFA did not publish its VAR protocols, explain its reasoning, or respond to Egypt’s formal complaint at the time. The absence of transparency, not proof of a fix, was the part that was real.
What’s Actually at Stake Now
The result is already settled — Spain are the 2026 World Cup champions, and Messi’s last World Cup ended in a final defeat. What’s left to resolve is entirely administrative: how much the Argentine federation is fined, whether any players or staff are suspended, and whether that suspension would carry into future competitions like World Cup qualifying or the Copa América.
Based on the pattern from Argentina’s earlier banner fine and past FIFA precedent, a financial penalty is the most likely single outcome for the federation itself. The assault case against Paredes, Molina, and Ayala is the bigger unknown — individual suspensions for players are a real possibility given the specific, video-documented nature of the clash, separate from any federation-level fine.
Frequently asked questions
Why do people hate Argentina at this World Cup?
Two separate controversies converged in the tournament’s final week: a political banner about the Falkland Islands after the England semi-final, and accusations — denied by FIFA and Argentina’s coach — that referees favored Argentina in its round-of-16 win over Egypt.
What is the Malvinas banner, and why does it break FIFA’s rules?
“Las Malvinas son Argentinas” reasserts Argentina’s claim to the British-administered Falkland Islands. FIFA’s disciplinary code bans political messages at matches it controls, and Argentina was already fined once this World Cup cycle for the same banner before the tournament began.
Did FIFA actually favor Argentina against Egypt?
There’s no proven evidence of that. FIFA’s head of refereeing defended the contested calls as protocol-compliant, and Argentina’s coach denied any match-fixing. What critics point to instead is FIFA’s refusal to publish VAR reasoning or respond to Egypt’s official complaint at the time — a transparency problem, not confirmed bias.
Has FIFA opened a formal case against Argentina?
Yes. As of late July 2026, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee has opened formal proceedings against the Argentine Football Association covering the banner, discriminatory chants and gestures, security failures, and objects thrown by spectators across multiple matches.
Are any Argentina players facing individual punishment?
Yes. Leandro Paredes, Nahuel Molina, and assistant coach Roberto Ayala face separate assault-related proceedings over a post-final clash with Spain players Rodri, Eric García, and Gavi. All three could face suspensions if found guilty.
Has this happened to Argentina before?
Yes. FIFA fined the Argentine federation for the identical Malvinas banner in 2014, and again just this June before the 2026 tournament started, for a friendly against Slovenia.
Who won the 2026 World Cup final?
Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time on July 19, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, winning the tournament.