Tens of thousands of Argentina supporters have signed a petition calling for a rematch of the 2026 World Cup final. After the Spanish national team defeated Lionel Messi and others 1-0 to lift the trophy for the second time in their history, referee Slavko Vincic accused him of being “corrupt.”
Argentina failed to register a single shot on target throughout 120 minutes, and Enzo Fernandes was shown a red card in the 93rd minute. After receiving a second yellow card for a heavy foul, chaos erupted at the final whistle and Leandro Paredes found himself in the middle of a violent scene, including a collision with Gabi and Eric Garcia.
Argentina did not accept defeat gracefully and Nahuel Molina appeared to provoke a confrontation by punching Rodri.
Some supporters are equally outraged, judging by the more than 82,000 signatures on a petition calling for a rematch of the final. Gisela Sanchez, the creator of the Change.org petition, argues that FIFA should annul the result because of the performance of Slovenian referee Vincic.
“The recent final between Argentina and Spain was tainted by the corrupt play of a controversial referee who, according to video evidence, was bribed to influence the outcome of the match,” Sanchez wrote.
“This is a huge shame for the players, coaches and most importantly for the fans who were eager to see a game defined by the talent and dedication on the pitch, not the referee’s bad decisions.
“If we allow corruption to continue on this global stage, we are setting a bad example for future generations of athletes and fans.
“We therefore call on FIFA to seriously and transparently consider these incidents and consider replaying the final, this time without the influence of corrupt referees.”
Change.org has been flooded with petitions of a completely different nature. It’s a petition asking FIFA to ban Argentina from future tournaments. A petition calling for the team to be excluded from all future World Cups had gathered more than 29 million signatures by the time it was closed.
Vincic was whistled for 46 fouls, 25 of which were against Argentina players. Fernandes was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in the second half. One was for a dissent after a free-kick was denied, and the other was for a reckless challenge on Pau Kvarsi.
The match was a stop-start affair due to Argentina’s time-wasting tactics, but Spain eventually found the breakthrough in extra time. FIFA is currently investigating the Argentine player’s actions after the match, which drew widespread condemnation.
Gary Neville said on ITV: “This is a disgrace.” “I love the competitive spirit of Argentines, fighting for their lives and wasting their lives. Messi supported them, but the last few games have been a disgrace.”
