FIFA fines and suspends Argentina following World Cup final brawl

FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee on Friday, August 22, 2026, issued fines and match bans against Argentina for conduct after their World Cup final defeat to Spain at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 19. Among the penalties, midfielder Leandro Paredes received a 10-match suspension and a $90,000 fine.

Spain beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium, and a post-match altercation followed the defeat. Paredes, 32, who plays for Boca Juniors, was sent off after charging Spain defender Eric Garcia, grabbing him by the throat and knocking him to the turf, and video of the incident showed Argentina teammates Nahuel Molina and Roberto Ayala throwing punches in the resulting scrum.

The committee also disciplined Molina with a seven-match suspension and a $90,000 fine, while Thiago Almada was banned for one match and fined $30,000. Team official Roberto Ayala received a three-match ban and a $30,000 fine, and Spain midfielder Gavi was suspended for one match with a $30,000 fine.

FIFA fined the Argentine Football Association $321,000 for multiple breaches, citing the use of a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature, team misconduct and discriminatory chants and gestures by supporters. The AFA was ordered to allocate $100,000 of that fine to a plan to combat discrimination.

The disciplinary panel flagged a demonstration after Argentina’s semifinal victory over England in which several players displayed a banner reading "The Falklands are Argentine," a reference included in FIFA’s findings to the United Kingdom’s 1982 war with Argentina over possession of the islands. FIFA counted that incident under the category of demonstrations of a non-sporting nature.

Argentina has been instructed to stage their next two home matches with spectator capacity limited to 50 percent, with one of those matches and $100,000 of the AFA fine suspended during a probationary period.