Six Argentina players might miss the next World Cup after FIFA’s announcement.
Six Argentina players might miss the 2030 World Cup after FIFA announced they’re looking into some incidents. Argentina didn’t manage to keep their title after losing to Spain in extra time, with Ferran Torres scoring the winning goal.
During the final, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez was sent off for two reckless challenges. After the match ended, several Argentina players lost their cool and are now being investigated for their behavior. Nahuel Molina was filmed hitting Spain’s captain Rodri, while Leandro Paredes got very upset and grabbed Eric Garcia by the throat and pushed Gavi to the ground. Interestingly, FIFA’s commentator system mistakenly said Paredes was sent off, but he wasn’t.
Another surprising moment involved Argentina’s assistant coach Roberto Ayala, who was seen striking Dani Olmo in a scuffle. Ayala later apologized, saying it was more of a push than a punch, but Olmo didn’t accept the apology and accused Ayala of not telling the truth in a Spanish interview.
FIFA confirmed they have opened disciplinary cases against Molina, Paredes, Ayala, Thiago Almada, and Spain’s Gavi for possible misconduct.
Besides these incidents, FIFA is also investigating Argentina over a controversial banner shown after their semi-final win over England. The banner said “Las Malvinas Son Argentinas” (“The Falkland Islands are Argentine”), referring to the 1982 conflict. Since then, Argentina has continued to claim the islands, and players held up the banner in Atlanta after winning against England.
FIFA had fined Argentina before in 2014 for a similar issue, and now they’re opening new proceedings because of this recent banner and related disruptions during matches, like chants, late starts, and security problems.
Players Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, and Giovani Lo Celso were seen holding the banner, which appeared to come from the stands.
The Sun reports that these players, along with Molina, Almada, and Paredes, could face bans that might affect the next World Cup. While this is not confirmed yet, any suspensions could apply to the 2030 tournament.
Argentina is one of the hosts for the 2030 World Cup’s 100th anniversary, holding one game in Buenos Aires. Because they’re hosting, they don’t have to qualify and won’t play in the South American qualifiers. So, their next official match might well be the opening game in 2030.