FIFA launched a formal investigation on July 20, 2026, following violent physical altercations between Argentine and Spanish players after Spain's 1-0 extra-time World Cup final victory at MetLife Stadium.
World football's governing body confirmed its disciplinary committee assigned an ethics prosecutor to review potential conduct breaches.
The violence erupted immediately after the final whistle, featuring punches, kicks, and physical confrontations between opposing squads.
Incidents on the Pitch
Substitute Nahuel Molina struck Spanish captain Rodri during pitch celebrations before squaring up to him.
Leandro Paredes also kicked Eric Garcia, grabbed his throat, and threw Gavi to the turf, while assistant coach Roberto Ayala was filmed striking Dani Olmo.
Argentina's head coach tried to restore order on the pitch before addressing the media about the team's behavior.
"We are gracious in victory, and we must be so in defeat," said Lionel Scaloni.
Former players and commentators strongly criticized the South American team's conduct during broadcast coverage.
"Paredes threw two or three haymakers into someone's face," said Alan Shearer, former England captain. "He went for them.
There is no place for that."
Shearer highlighted the repeated nature of these post-match outbursts from the squad.
"We know how much it means to them and we know how much it hurts to lose, but there is a way to lose," said Shearer.
"Too many times we have seen that from Argentina. The reaction after the final whistle is terrible."
Other pundits pointed out contrasting behavior among individual players following the match.
"There was one man on the pitch who did have class and that was Lionel Messi, who shook hands with every one of those Spanish players," said Joe Hart, BBC pundit.
"The game's done. They could have absolutely no complaints about what happened today.
Disgusting behaviour."
Former England forward Wayne Rooney echoed concerns regarding the team's discipline under pressure. "Does it surprise you?
It doesn't surprise me," said Rooney. "We've seen this with Argentina before.
It's just not the reaction you want. We've seen some of the reaction after knocking England out in the last round."
Rooney attributed the volatile reaction directly to the match performance. "That's just sad," said Rooney.
"If you lose a game of football, be graceful and get out of there. It's really poor from them.
That's a reaction to them being outplayed, out-fought, out-thought on the football pitch, and then they resort to that at the end.
It's poor from those two players."
Pundits on ITV focused heavily on Paredes' conduct throughout the tournament.
"They're very competitive and I love that element of them, but [Paredes] has just been a disgrace for the last couple of games, and why the referees have allowed him to continue doing what he is doing..."
said Gary Neville.
Co-panelists emphasized the negative image the actions projected globally. "It's quite embarrassing really," said Micah Richards.
"In the game, they were just on the cusp every single time.
Paredes doesn't need to do that, he's better than that, and it doesn't stop there – it keeps going and going and going."
Richards stressed that post-match frustration does not justify violent acts.
"We all know what it's like to lose a game, we can be very frustrated, but this is not good enough – it's not a good look at all," said Richards.
Match commentators raised questions about refereeing decisions made during regulation time. "Football has been the winner, there's no doubt about that," said Lee Dixon.
"On the other hand, today, Argentina were just anti-football, and the scenes at the end, how Paredes is still on the pitch, I'll never know.
I made out six or seven times he should have been sent off."
Dixon concluded by noting the opposition's defensive containment of Argentina's captain. "[Messi's] legacy coming to an end," said Dixon.
"He wasn't at his best today, wasn't allowed to be."
