FIFA hands Argentina's Paredes 10-game ban for World Cup final scuffle
The suspension effectively keeps midfielder Leandro Paredes off Argentina's national team for a full year, matching one of the harshest sanctions in World Cup history.
FIFA announced disciplinary action Friday against three Argentina players following a physical altercation with Spain opponents moments after Argentina lost the World Cup final. Midfielder Leandro Paredes received a 10-match ban after grabbing Spain's Eric Garcia by the throat and pushing Gavi to the ground, a sanction FIFA ranks among the most severe in World Cup history alongside the 2014 ban on Uruguay's Luis Suarez.
Defender Nahuel Molina was suspended for seven games and Thiago Almada for one. FIFA also fined Paredes and Molina $90,000 each and Almada $30,000. Because the FIFA international calendar includes 10 games through June 2027, Paredes' ban amounts to roughly a year away from the national team, though all of those matches could be friendlies with no competitive fixtures currently scheduled.
Spain's Gavi was banned for one game, a Nations League match against England on Sept. 26. Argentina coach Roberto Ayala received a three-game ban and $30,000 fine, while the Argentine Football Association was fined $110,000 over incidents including a political banner about the Falkland Islands and discriminatory chants by fans. The federation must also spend $100,000 on anti-racism projects and play its next home match at 50% stadium capacity.
Argentina, which earned $34 million in World Cup prize money, said it plans to seek grounds for the rulings and appeal to FIFA's appeals committee, with a possible further appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The clashes followed a final in which Spain's Ferran Torres scored the only goal in extra time after Argentina's Enzo Fernandez was sent off.
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