Scaloni's men could face bans as Fifa investigates chaotic conclusion

Fifa has confirmed that its disciplinary committee will investigate the ugly scenes that marred the conclusion of the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, with a disciplinary and ethics prosecutor appointed to examine the conduct of Argentina players and coaching staff following their 1-0 defeat to Spain. The governing body's intervention raises the prospect of suspensions for any players or officials found to have been involved in the post-match fracas, while the Argentine Football Association (AFA) could also face financial penalties as a result of the disturbances that erupted after the final whistle in New Jersey.

The trouble began as Spain's players embarked upon their jubilant celebrations, with several members of the Argentina squad and backroom staff becoming embroiled in altercations with their opponents. Nahuel Molina, Leandro Paredes, Thiago Almada and assistant coach Roberto Ayala were all identified as having been involved in the melee, which was triggered when Molina appeared to strike Manchester City midfielder Rodri on the arm or stomach as the Spaniard ran from the dugout to join his team-mates. Rodri, who had been substituted during extra-time, confronted Molina, only for the Argentina defender to respond aggressively, at which point Eric Garcia rushed over to defend his colleague and Paredes became involved, appearing to jab the Spain defender in the throat.

Unused substitute Gavi attempted to intervene but was forced to the ground by Almada, before Paredes pushed the young Spaniard to the turf by placing his hand in the player's face, while Ayala was seen to be holding Garcia around the throat and subsequently appeared to strike Spain midfielder Dani Olmo. The chaotic scenes prompted widespread condemnation from pundits, with Alan Shearer, speaking on BBC One's coverage, describing the behaviour as indefensible, stating that Paredes had "thrown two or three haymakers into someone's face" and lamenting that there was "no place or space for that" in the game. Joe Hart echoed those sentiments, characterising the conduct as "disgusting behaviour", while emphasising that Argentina could have "absolutely no complaints" about the result itself.

It was erroneously reported on Fifa's commentator information system that Paredes had been shown a red card by referee Slavko Vincic for pushing Garcia by the throat, but the decision was swiftly deleted and the governing body has since confirmed to BBC Sport that no disciplinary action was taken at the time. Argentina had already seen one player dismissed, with Enzo Fernandez receiving a second yellow card in second-half stoppage time, compounding the disappointment of a defeat that ended their hopes of back-to-back World Cup triumphs. Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni, who had attempted to calm the situation during the altercations, sought to play down the incidents in his post-match interview, insisting that his side had demonstrated grace in defeat and that they accepted the result, though his remarks appeared somewhat at odds with the footage of his players' conduct.

The disciplinary and ethics prosecutor appointed by Fifa will now examine the events in greater detail, moving beyond the assessment of potential violent conduct to consider whether the actions of the players and staff constituted offences under Article 13 of the governing body's disciplinary code, which covers offensive behaviour and the principles of fair play. The prosecutor will take into account "both aggravating and mitigating circumstances" and possesses the power to impose global bans, a sanction previously deployed against Luis Rubiales, the then-president of the Spanish football federation, who was banned from all football-related activities for three years in 2023 following his unsolicited kiss of Jenni Hermoso after the Women's World Cup final. Comparable punishments have been meted out for on-field misconduct, most notably when Uruguay striker Luis Suarez received a four-month suspension from all football-related activity for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, a ban that subsequently affected his club commitments.

It is understood that any suspensions imposed on Almada, Ayala, Molina and Paredes are unlikely to be of such duration, though the AFA's recent disciplinary history is unlikely to count in its favour. The association faced charges related to "offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play" following the 2022 World Cup final victory over France, with Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez attracting criticism for a lewd gesture with his Goalkeeper of the Tournament trophy and for mocking France's Kylian Mbappe in the dressing room thereafter. On that occasion, Argentina were fined £18,300 but no individual action was taken, while Martinez received a two-match ban in 2024 for "offensive behaviour" during World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia, having repeated his controversial trophy celebration and subsequently struck a camera with his gloves. Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez was also compelled to apologise in 2024 after posting a video containing what the French Football Federation described as a "racist and discriminatory" chant referencing the 2022 final.

The AFA is already facing a probable fine over a banner held up by Argentina players following their 2-1 semi-final victory against England, which read "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" – "The Falklands are Argentine" – a gesture that echoes a similar incident in 2014 when the association was fined £20,000 for displaying the same message before a friendly against Slovenia. Tottenham's Cristian Romero, former Spurs player Giovani Lo Celso and Manchester United's Lisandro Martínez, who were among those holding the banner, could potentially face individual sanctions, though the precedent of Spain's Alvaro Morata and Rodri, who were banned for one game by Uefa after chanting "Gibraltar is Spanish" during their Euro 2024 victory celebrations, suggests that any punishment may be relatively modest.

There is no fixed timescale for the completion of Fifa's investigation, with previous cases offering little indication of how swiftly the prosecutor might conclude his examination. In February, Uefa appointed an ethics and disciplinary inspector to investigate alleged racist abuse by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni towards Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr, yet it was more than two months before the Portuguese player received a six-game ban for homophobic conduct, with three matches suspended for two years. The comparison suggests that Argentina's players and officials may face a period of uncertainty as the governing body weighs the evidence of Sunday's unsavoury conclusion, a process that will determine whether the AFA's reputation for indiscipline – already tarnished by multiple recent incidents – suffers further damage in the aftermath of their World Cup final defeat.