Argentina faced the prospect of FIFA disciplinary action after its players celebrated their World Cup semi-final victory over England with a banner supporting their country’s territorial claims to the Falkland Islands.
The reigning world champions defeated Thomas Tuchel’s team 2–1 in Atlanta, staging a dramatic last-minute comeback with two goals to secure a spot in Sunday’s final against Spain.
However, it is unlikely FIFA will impose a severe penalty on Argentina; they will likely get away with a minor sanction. This is because the major controversy likely to emerge after the tournament is the perception that Argentina and Messi were shielded by FIFA and steered toward the world title. Indeed, over seven million signatures have already been collected worldwide alleging that Argentina received preferential treatment from FIFA.
A more evident fact is that Argentina’s victory over England sparked both disappointment and hatred globally; Argentina has now become the most hated national team in the world. While no one disputes Messi’s brilliance, there is a widespread belief that Messi and Argentina were protected by FIFA and referees, and that the tournament was engineered to ensure their championship win.
FIFA has effectively become the world’s most powerful political organization. FIFA President Infantino’s exceptionally close relationship with Trump had already drawn attention before the tournament, and FIFA’s reputation plummeted after the red card issued to a US player was rescinded following a call from Trump. It was widely accepted that Argentina would reach the final—and defeat England—thanks to the referee’s decisions during the match against Egypt.
Following the World Cup in Qatar, it had already come to light that FIFA selected host nations through bribery. At this juncture, we see a FIFA intent on steering the tournament hosts—Mexico and the USA—to the final and handing them the trophy. The fact that Argentine players deliberately displayed banners actually stems from their confidence in FIFA; they know the organization will either impose no penalty or merely issue a token fine to save face.
There is no longer any prestige associated with FIFA organizing World Cups. From now on, any tournament held by this body will lack credibility, and nations should strive to establish a new organization. Otherwise, they will be unable to prevent the continued existence of a FIFA where politics and money determine the tournament winners.