Official statement: Argentina raises the "last resort" in the face of heavy FIFA sanctions

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) will appeal against the sanctions handed down by world governing body FIFA, punishments that also hit a number of Argentina's players over the events at the 2026 World Cup.

In an official statement released today, Friday, the AFA said: "In light of the notifications we have received, and in defence of the rights of the Association and its players, the legal department at the AFA will request from FIFA, at the appropriate time and in the appropriate form, to obtain the reasons for the reviewable decisions."

This is in preparation for lodging the appeals before the appeals committee of the world football governing body, while retaining the possibility of resorting in the future to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as a last resort.

Heavy sanctions

FIFA's disciplinary committee issued the sanctions today over the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain, which the latter won 1-0, along with incidents at other Argentina matches.

Leandro Paredes copped the harshest punishment, a 10-match ban. Argentina team-mate Nahuel Molina received seven matches, while forward Thiago Almada was banned for one.

Roberto Ayala, a member of the Argentina national team's technical staff, picked up a 3-match ban. Spain international Gavi was hit with a one-match ban over the clashes after the World Cup final. All of them face varying fines too.

On top of that, FIFA fined the Argentine Football Association 321 thousand dollars for several violations during the tournament, among them incidents relating to fan behaviour and discrimination, plus the display of a political banner concerning the Falkland Islands.

Argentina must also play their next two home matches with crowds capped at 50% of the stadium's capacity.