Nine years on: the Messi incident fuels Argentina's optimism in the penalties battle

The Argentine federation is prepared to go far against FIFA's sanctions

FIFA came down hard on Argentina on Friday. The world governing body announced penalties against both the national team and the Argentine Football Association, "AFA", after the Falkland Islands flag was raised following the 2-1 win over England, and over the scenes at the stadium after Spain lifted the 2026 World Cup with a 1-0 final victory.

The fines slapped on the Argentine association reached 321,000 dollars. On top of that came a 10-match ban for Leandro Paredes, a 7-match ban for Nahuel Molina, a one-match ban for Thiago Almada and a 3-match ban for Roberto Ayala, Lionel Scaloni's assistant. Spain's Gavi picked up a one-match ban of his own. Varying fines applied to all of them.

Andrés Patón Urich, director of legal affairs at the Argentine association, told "Olé" that the association has already begun preparing its defence file and appeal against the penalties, with a particular focus on cutting the bans handed to Paredes and Molina.

Their case rests on the precedent set by Lionel Messi. Banned for four matches in 2017, Messi had the punishment overturned for lack of conclusive evidence after serving just one of them.

Steps of the appeal

Once the defence file is complete, the Argentine association will lodge an appeal before FIFA's Appeal Committee. That is the first step to contest the decisions handed down by the Disciplinary Committee.

Should that fail to deliver the outcome they want, the association can then turn to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, "CAS", the highest independent international body for settling disputes in sport.

Urich revealed that the fine tied specifically to the Falkland Islands banner came to just 10,000 dollars of the 321,000 total, after estimates had suggested a far heavier penalty was on the cards.

FIFA's Disciplinary Committee also ordered Argentina to play their next two home matches with the crowd capped at 50 per cent. That reduction applies only to qualifiers, not to friendlies.

Suspension of part of the penalty

Roughly 100,000 dollars of the total fines will go towards an anti-discrimination programme, FIFA's Disciplinary Committee explained. Part of the penalty was also suspended: one match and 100,000 dollars of the fine now sit under a probationary period.

As runners-up at the World Cup, Argentina had banked a total of 33 million dollars.