Argentina to take FIFA sanctions over World Cup final to Court of Arbitration for Sport

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after FIFA rejected its challenge against sanctions imposed on the organisation and Leandro Paredes following the events of the 2026 World Cup final, the BBC has reported.

Paredes was suspended for 10 matches for his involvement in the confrontation that followed Argentina’s 1-0 defeat by Spain in the final.

His Argentina team-mate Nahuel Molina was initially given a seven-match suspension. FIFA later accepted Argentina’s appeal against that punishment, reducing it to four matches, while Paredes’ ban remained unchanged.

FIFA also fined the Argentine Football Association $321,000 over several disciplinary breaches. Those included using a sporting event to express non-sporting matters, team misconduct, and discriminatory chants and gestures by supporters.

The sanctions followed an incident after Argentina’s 2-1 victory over England in the semi-final. Several Argentina players held up a banner asserting their country’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, which are part of the British Overseas Territories.

In an official statement, the Argentine Football Association said it would first request the reasons behind FIFA’s decision to reject its appeal. It will then decide on the next step before taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Final confrontation

The World Cup final, played in July, was followed by confrontations on the pitch after Spain’s players celebrated their victory.

Paredes was seen pushing Eric Garcia around the neck area. Gavi attempted to intervene but fell to the ground after an intervention by Thiago Almada.

The incident also involved Argentina assistant coach Roberto Ayala.

FIFA subsequently appointed an investigator through its disciplinary and ethics committees to assess what had happened before sanctions were issued against the parties involved.