Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes has been suspended for 10 matches by FIFA due to “incidents” that occurred during the World Cup final against Spain, which Argentina lost 1-0 after extra time. FIFA announced the suspension on Friday.
Teammate Nahuel Molina received a seven-match suspension for the same reason.
“Under Article 69, paragraphs 2a and 3 of the Disciplinary Code, match suspensions are carried over to the next matches of the representative teams concerned,” FIFA stated.
Molina and Paredes were involved in a major confrontation at the end of the World Cup final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, near New York.
The incident began when Molina struck Spanish midfielder Rodri. Paredes then knocked Spanish players Eric Garcia, whom he also grabbed by the throat, and Gavi to the ground.
FIFA also handed one-match suspensions to two other players, Argentina’s Thiago Almada and Spain’s Gavi, while Roberto Ayala, a member of Argentina’s coaching staff, was suspended for three matches.
Read also : FIFA opens disciplinary case over Argentina’s Falklands banner, World Cup final behavior
After Spain won the World Cup, La Roja coach Luis de la Fuente condemned the Argentines’ behavior as “unacceptable.”
FIFA recently released footage from the body camera worn by final referee Slavko Vinčić, showing him calling on Argentine football legend Lionel Messi to calm Paredes, who had already received a yellow card.
“Messi, control Paredes. Control him! I don’t want to send him off, he has already received a yellow card,” the referee told the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) was also fined $321,000, with part of the amount suspended. This was for “violations of Article 13, paragraph 2c (Use of a sporting event as a platform for non-sporting manifestations), Article 14, paragraph 5 (Improper conduct of a team), Article 15 (Discrimination and racist incident) and Article 17 (Order and security at matches) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code,” the world governing body said.
FIFA added that “due to the violation of Article 15 of the aforementioned code, the AFA is required to play its next two home matches before a limited number of spectators (50%),” with one of the two matches subject to a suspended sentence.
Argentina’s players had previously displayed a banner on the pitch after qualifying for the final by beating England 2-1, declaring that “the Falkland Islands are Argentine.”
The Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas in Argentina, are a British overseas territory located 600 kilometers off the Argentine coast. Their sovereignty remains disputed between London and Buenos Aires.
In 1982, war broke out between the two countries following Argentina’s invasion of the islands. British forces retook the Falklands after 74 days of fighting, which left 649 Argentines and 255 Britons dead.
