Prior to their defeat in Sunday’s World Cup final, there had been a theory that Argentina were treated favorably by FIFA.
Their controversial win over Egypt in the last 16 certainly added fuel to the fire of conspiracy theories, with some suggesting that FIFA simply wanted Lionel Messi to win the tournament once again.
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Yet, a counterpoint to that particular theory is the fact that no team in history have received more red cards in World Cup finals than – you guessed it – Argentina (four). Pedro Monzon and Gustavo Dezotti were both sent off in Argentina’s loss to West Germany in the 1990 World Cup final.
Two of them were shown at the 2026 World Cup in New Jersey as the South American giants lost their title to Spain to continue a trend.
The last nine cards shown at World Cup 2026 were all to Argentina players
Indeed, as per Opta, the last NINE cards that were shown at the tournament were all given to Argentine players.
They received three yellow cards in their semi-final victory in Atlanta on Wednesday, before six were shown to them in the final against Spain – including two to Enzo Fernandez, which led to a red card.
After those six yellow cards in the World Cup final, midfielder Leandro Paredes was shown a red card after the final whistle after an angry confrontation with Spain players Gavi and Eric Garcia.
While few would doubt that Argentina play on the edge, the idea that they simply don’t get punished clearly does not hold water.
That’s not to say the officiating was brilliant during the World Cup and that Argentina didn’t get relatively fortunate at times, but it is obviously not as if they have carte blanche to do exactly as they like as some would like to make out.
Read more:
Knicks star Josh Hart makes a surprising U-turn after Argentina’s embarrassing World Cup defeat
Lionel Messi criticised for ’embarrassing’ moment during Argentina’s World Cup final defeat
Ferran Torres’ World Cup winner ends Emiliano Martinez’s insane career finals streak
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