Argentina have seemingly become the most hated football nation on the face of the planet. This all traces back to the FIFA World Cup final. Their tactics have been seen as villianous. This has set off a petition to remove the nation from the next edition.
An online petition demanding that Argentina's national team be permanently banned from the World Cup gathered more than 23 million signatures in under one week.
The appeal, titled 'Argentina Out,' drew a ridiculous 23 316 108 signatures from 170 countries worldwide. An initial target of five million was set by organisers c but the final total blew past that to become one of the most circulated online petitions in history.
Launched during the 2026 World Cup by irate football fans, it accused FIFA and match referees of 'bias' towards Argentina and captain Lionel Messi, something FIFA strongly denied.
"Why should the rest of the teams play in the tournament if the winner is known in advance?" the text on the petition read. "Exclude Argentina from the rld Cup and give everyone a fair chance."
La Albiceleste were beaten 1-0 in Sunday's final by Spain and legendary forward Messi left the pitch in tears amid ugly scenes at the full-time whistle.
Following the conclusion of the tournament, in which Argentina's behaviour had been described as 'classless', the petition has been closed. Its website now reads: "FIFA ignored us but Spain delivered. Thank you Spain."
Ultimately, angry fans haven't got their wish and Argentina will continue to compete in future World Cup tournaments, starting in 2030, where they are one of multiple hosts for an expanded, 64-team format.
With more than 23 million signatures, the 'Argentina Out' petition fell just short of a Guinness World Record.
The Jubilee 2000, an international movement which called for the cancellation of unpayable debts owed by the world's poorest countries, still holds the record.
It began in April 1997 and by the time it was handed over at the UN Millennium summit in New York at the end of 2000; the number of signatories had reached 24 319 181 from 166 countries.
As wide as its circulation was, the 'Argentina Out' petition was never going to have any serious impact on FIFA or international football as a whole.
The sport's governing body never acknowledged its demands and any other online movement like it will never have any legal bearing on the nation's participation in international tournaments.
That fact, though, hasn't deterred Argentina fans from creating their own petition in the wake of World Cup final heartbreak.
In the days since the showpiece in New York, more than 80 000 fans have reportedly signed an Argentine petition to replay the match due to 'rigged refereeing decisions.'
Gisela Sanchez created the petition page on Change.org and appealed for fellow supporters to back her call for a rematch. However, while her petition has gathered more than 80 000 signatures; the organiser has provided no verified evidence to support the allegations.
"The recent final between Argentina and Spain was tarnished by the controversial and corrupt performance of the referee who, according to video evidence, was bought to influence the match’s outcome," she wrote, sharing the baseless claim.
"It is a MONUMENTAL disappointment for the players, coaches, and, above all, for the fans who crave to see a game decided by talent and dedication on the pitch, and not by rigged refereeing decisions."
"If we allow corruption to go unnoticed on this global stage, we are setting a bad example for future generations of athletes and fans."
"Therefore, we ask FIFA to review these incidents with seriousness and transparency, and to consider replaying the final -- this time without the influence of a CORRUPT referee."
Much like the 23 million strong appeal against Argentina, an online call to replay the final will have no legal or sporting effect on the result, or Spain's second World Cup title.
Argentina President, Javier Milei, launched a scathing social media response over an online petition calling for Argentina to be banned from future FIFA World Cups. The controversy erupted following Argentina's loss against Spain in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final where Ferran Torres scored the winner in extra-time.
Argentina faced a number of disciplinary issues and were unable to register a single shot on target during regulation time. Following the match, the "Argentina Out" campaign ended up getting 23 316 108 verified signatures from supporters across roughly 170 countries. The campaign called for Argentina to be excluded from future World Cups and argued that their conduct damaged the image of the 'beautiful game'.
However, Argentina President Javier Milei responded with a series of posts on Instagram. He defended the national team and slammed the ongoing criticism.
"Do you have enemies? It means you once defended something. We defend Argentina," read one of his posts.
"The problem with Argentina is that we stand out. We don't go unnoticed, people are jealous of us, and we're good at almost everything," he wrote in another Instagram post.
Earlier, Argentina footballer Leandro Paredes admitted that the eventual champions, Spain, deserved to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup and added that the pain of losing the final will stay with them for a long time.
Paredes was at the centre of controversy as, after the final whistle rang and Spain were crowned champions by a 1-0 margin, he was involved in altercations with Spanish stars Eric Garcia and Gavi, as per Goal.com.
The Argentina star said to ESPN as quoted by Goal.com, that Spain deserved to win their second title and the Argentina side do not pay heed to any conspiracy theories surrounding their losses.
Two of the most popular theories on the internet was FIFA WC final being set up in favour of Spain so that FIFA president Gianni Infantino could get re-elected with the support of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and that Argentina was forced to lose after they made a political message by holding a "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" ("The Falklands are Argentine") on the pitch following their World Cup semi-final victory over England and faced risk of being banned from two upcoming FIFA World Cups otherwise.
Read Also: Falklands Revisited
"Spain were better than us in the final, and they deserve to win the World Cup. We pay no attention to these theories. If I were to believe everything I hear, I would lose my mind. A lot was said before, during and after the World Cup," he added.
Reflecting on his team's run to the final, Paredes said that the team put on a wonderful tournament and whatever the team has achieved over the last eight years, including two Copa America titles and the FIFA World Cup trophy in 2022, makes it an "exceptional journey".
"Perhaps we will realise the greatness of what we have accomplished as time passes, because it is something unbelievable," he added.
Roberto Ayala, one of Lionel Scaloni’s assistant managers for the Argentina national team, has downplayed his incident with Spanish star midfielder Dani Olmo after the titleholders were beaten 1–0 by Spain in the 2026 World Cup final last week.
La Roja were the deserved winners of Sunday’s one-sided affair, thanks to Ferran Torres’s goal in extra time. Argentina’s antics on and off the field were lauded as villainoun and the squad was reduced to 10 men before the extended period when Enzo Fernández received his second yellow card of the night.
Tempers flared in the aftermath of Spain’s victory, as midfielder Leandro Paredes scuffled with both Eric García and Gavi. Argentina’s no. 5 grabbed the throat of the former and threw the latter to the ground, aided by Lisandro Martínez.
However, it wasn’t just the players who were involved in the ugly post-match scenes. While the stoic Scaloni attempted to de-escalate some of the flare-ups, he couldn’t control one of his assistants. Ayala was filmed confronting García and Olmo, grabbing at the throat of the Barcelona playmaker.
Those chiefly responsible for the post-match scenes at MetLife Stadium have since expressed regret; with the aforementioned Paredes admitting that Spain was the "rightful winner" of the final.
Ayala, meanwhile, has apologised for his outburst with Olmo, all while downplaying the severity of the incident.
"Obviously, I’m sorry. Because of my position, I can’t allow a feeling, or what I might receive from the other party, to change my mood and my actions," the former Argentina defender told Esports Migdia on Valencia Capital Radio.
"I’m sorry, but for me, these are things that stay there, and that’s it. For me, things need to be put behind us and left there. It was more of a push than anything else; it wasn’t a punch like they’re saying, and that’s it. It was a reaction to something he said, but that’s it. If I see him, I’ll obviously apologize to him in person,” Ayala added.
The 53-year-old said he’d intended to separate a group of players on the field but allowed emotion to take over. “I take responsibility for what I did.”
Meanwhile, Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente has broken his silence on Argentina's conduct after the final whistle on Sunday, and described it as 'intolerable and unacceptable.'
"At the time, I didn't realise it. I was celebrating, hugging team-mates," he told Spanish television.
I find these petitions to be stupid and pointless (please excuse my language). In my view, petitions like these won't change anything. It's just something that shows how much support a particular issue has.
One can't change history. As Shakespeare wrote in Macbeth, What's done is done. As per the Butterfly Effect, a simple change can have catastrophic changes for the future and present timelines.