Fifa has opened an investigation into the violent scenes that followed Spain’s World Cup final win over Argentina on Sunday, putting several Argentina players at risk of bans and drawing a formal response from its disciplinary arm.
The governing body said its Disciplinary Committee has appointed a Disciplinary and Ethics Prosecutor to examine potential breaches of article 36 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code with regard to the post-match incidents. That moves the dispute beyond the usual red cards and match reports and into a process that can lead to wider sanctions if officials decide the conduct crossed the line.
The central figure in the aftermath was Leandro Paredes, who was shown a red card by Slavko Vincic after the final whistle and was involved in the melee that broke out on the halfway line. Nahuel Molina also appeared to strike Spain’s captain Rodri in the stomach after the whistle, while Paredes appeared to grab Eric García by the throat before throwing Gavi to the ground. Vincic had already sent off Enzo Fernández towards the end of normal time and booked three other Argentina players and Lionel Scaloni.
Fifa is also looking at what happened after Argentina’s semi-final win over England, when the players celebrated with a banner reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas.” The banner was smuggled into Atlanta Stadium by supporters, but the message itself sits inside a rule set that prohibits players or teams from making political statements. That gives the investigation a second lane beyond the final itself: not only what happened in the brawl, but whether Argentina’s celebrations in the tournament’s earlier stages also broke the code.
The open question is how far Fifa will go. Several Argentina players could face bans, but the governing body has not yet said what punishment, if any, will follow. For Paredes, the answer matters most of all, because the red card at the end of the final may now be only the beginning of the disciplinary case against him.
