Argentina Football Association to Appeal FIFA Punishments at Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Argentina Football Association (AFA) has announced plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after FIFA rejected its appeals concerning sanctions imposed on the organization and midfielder Leandro Paredes.
Paredes received a ten-match ban for his involvement in on-field confrontations following Argentina’s defeat to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final. His teammate, Nahuel Molina, faced a seven-match ban but later had his suspension reduced to four games by FIFA. Both players were fined $90,000 (£66,000).
Additionally, the AFA was penalized $321,000 (£235,000) for violations of FIFA’s disciplinary code. These breaches included using a sports event for non-sporting demonstrations, team misconduct, and discriminatory actions by fans. Following Argentina’s 2-1 victory over England in the World Cup semi-final, some players displayed a banner asserting Argentina’s claim over the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory.
In light of FIFA upholding the punishments, the AFA plans to request the reasons behind FIFA’s decisions before escalating the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The incident that led to the sanctions occurred after the World Cup final in July, when players Paredes, Molina, and Thiago Almada, along with assistant coach Roberto Ayala, were involved in a scuffle on the pitch as Spain celebrated their victory. Paredes appeared to push Spain’s Eric Garcia by the throat, while unused substitute Gavi attempted to intervene but was restrained by Almada. Following the incident, FIFA appointed a disciplinary and ethics prosecutor to investigate the events before issuing the sanctions.
