FIFA’s Stance on Replaying Argentina vs Spain 2026 World Cup Final

FIFA’s Stance on Replaying Argentina vs Spain 2026 World Cup Final

FIFA’s stance over replaying Argentina and Spain’s World Cup final has been revealed after a petition reached nearly 100,000 signatures.

Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste suffered a 1-0 defeat to La Roja at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19th. Ferran Torres’ extra-time winner meant the reigning European champions became two-time world champions.

Controversy ensued throughout a tense battle as Enzo Fernandez received a red card for two reckless bookings. Several refereeing decisions upset Argentine players and supporters.

So much so, a post-match brawl unfolded when Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes threw punches at Spain’s Gavi. Other incidents also took place as the South American nation reacted furiously to their loss.
How FIFA Will Respond to World Cup Final Petition
Argentina’s Leandro Paredes clashes with Spain’s Gavi after the match REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

An Argentine fan, Gisela Sanchez, has since created a petition on Change.org asking FIFA to replay the World Cup final. As of Friday morning, it sits at 95,710 signatures, with those signing in agreement with Sanchez’s issues about Slovakian referee Slavko Vincic.

Sanchez claimed that several decisions Vincic and his officiating team made impacted the outcome of the final. She wants FIFA to review incidents and irregularities, claiming ‘this isn’t just a matter of justice for Argentina, but for the future of world football.”

The chances of FIFA deciding to replay the final are all but certainly ruled out because petitions on platforms such as Change.org have no legal or regulatory authority over FIFA competitions. Despite the tens of thousands who took issue with Vincic and his team, a World Cup result can’t be overturned because fans are unhappy with refereeing decisions.

Only under “extraordinary circumstances” would a replay be required, and football governing bodies usually only consider replays in rare cases involving specific rule violations. Even if the petition reaches hundreds of thousands of signatures, it will have no legal or binding effect on the result.

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni refused to blame Vincic for his team’s defeat and insisted that Spain were the better team on the day. His and Messi’s futures are in doubt and Nicolas Otamendi has announced his international retirement.

This isn’t the only petition to have been created in the aftermath of a controversial World Cup and final. Another one has demanded that Spain be permanently banned from future global tournaments and this has been much more popular.

A website called ‘Argentina Out’ included said petition and has been signed by over 23 million people from 170 countries in under a week. The creator wrote: “FIFA ignored us but Spain delivered. Thank you Spain.”

While it has now been closed, it nearly achieved the Guinness World Record for the most signed petition in history. The current record of 24,319,181 signatures from 166 countries is held by ‘Jubilee 200 ‘, which was a campaign launched in 1997 calling for unbearable debts to be cancelled in the poorest countries.

Argentina were villainised during the World Cup campaign with rival fans believing they were handed preferential treatment. The actions of some of their players upset other nations, including England’s Jude Bellingham, who took issue with Valentin Barco after a semi-final defeat.