Despite the international campaign coordinated against Argentina, which claimed that it had “manipulated” the World Cup, we ended up being greatly harmed in the final.
Twelve years after the stolen final against Germany in Brazil 2014, a European team once again took the World Cup away from Argentina and Lionel Messi in a match marked by institutional pressures, a scandalous referee appointment, and decisions that directly harmed the National Team.
Lionel Messi after the final
It was not the first time. In Italy 1990, Germany became champions thanks to a non-existent penalty. In United States 1994, FIFA removed Diego Maradona from the World Cup due to alleged doping, just when the number 10 had already detoxed and was returning as the great figure of the National Team. In Brazil 2014, Manuel Neuer kneed Gonzalo Higuaín in the area, but the referee did not call a penalty and even sanctioned a non-existent foul by the Argentine.
In 2026, history repeated itself. Throughout the World Cup, there were attempts from abroad to establish that Argentina had the tournament “manipulated”, that FIFA wanted to give another Cup to Messi, and that any favorable result was due to an alleged arrangement led by Gianni Infantino.
However, in the final, exactly the opposite occurred. Argentina was left in the hands of a referee team loaded with conflicts, backgrounds, and suspicious statistics, and ended up being harmed in the most important decisions.
The UEFA threat against Gianni Infantino
Before the final, UEFA had issued a direct threat against Gianni Infantino: if Argentina won the World Cup again, they would move to remove him from the presidency of FIFA. Even the Slavic president Aleksander Čeferin did not attend the final in open protest against Infantino over the Balogun case.
A new crowning of Messi would be used by European power to accuse Infantino of favoring the National Team and promoting his removal.
Gianni Infantino
The definition was thus marked by an evident institutional pressure. UEFA had a direct interest in preventing another Argentine crowning and returning the World Cup to Europe.
In this context, the first scandalous decision occurred: the selection of the referee team.
A completely Slovenian trio
FIFA appointed Slovenian Slavko Vinčić as the main referee. His assistants were Tomaž Klančnik and Andraž Kovačič, also Slovenian. The three shared nationality with Aleksander Čeferin, president of UEFA and the main representative of European power within international football.
The final pitted Argentina against Spain, a team belonging to the confederation led by Čeferin. At the same time, Infantino was under the threat of being removed if the National Team became champions again. Despite this conflict, FIFA placed control of the most important match of the World Cup in the hands of three compatriots of the UEFA president.
World Cup Final Referee Team
Bastian Dankert, a German in the VAR
The VAR was overseen by the German Bastian Dankert. Germany is one of Argentina's main World Cup rivals and the opponent against which it has played three finals: 1986, 1990, and 2014.
In 1990, Germany became champions thanks to a non-existent penalty, and Argentina ended up with two players sent off. In 2014, Neuer hit Higuaín in the area, and the referee did not call a penalty.
Twelve years later, a German was in charge of reviewing the expulsions, penalties, and actions capable of defining another final played by Argentina.
The Colombian Nicolás Gallo as AVAR
Colombian Nicolás Gallo was appointed as the main VAR assistant. Colombia was the country that had lost to Argentina in the last final of the Copa América and maintained a growing rivalry with the National Team.
Nicolás Gallo
The referee team was thus formed by three Slovenians, a German in the VAR, and a Colombian as AVAR: a combination that, far from conveying neutrality, multiplied the suspicions before the match.
The dark background of Slavko Vinčić
In 2020, Slavko Vinčić was detained during a police raid carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The operation was linked to a plot of prostitution, drugs, and weapons. At the scene, women, cocaine, large amounts of money, and firearms were found.
Slavko Vinčić
Vinčić attempted to escape along with three others aboard a boat. The escape was unsuccessful, and he was detained by authorities. Despite the seriousness of the episode, he was inexplicably released. He later claimed that he had arrived as a guest, testified as a witness, and was not formally accused of being part of the investigated organization.
Among all the available referees, FIFA chose for a World Cup final a judge who had been found in a raid related to prostitutes, cocaine, money, and weapons, and who had attempted to escape from the scene.
Spain had never lost with Vinčić
Spain had never lost a match officiated by Slavko Vinčić. Before the final, they had accumulated five unbeaten matches under his leadership. After defeating Argentina, they completed six matches without defeat. Six matches. No defeats.
And the sixth was the World Cup final. FIFA knew this history before appointing him. The only two World Cup defeats of Argentina with Scaloni were officiated by Vinčić. The record with Argentina was exactly the opposite.
Throughout Lionel Scaloni's era, the National Team only lost two matches in World Cups. Both were officiated by Slavko Vinčić. The first was against Saudi Arabia in Qatar 2022.
Emiliano Martínez
The second was the final against Spain in 2026. Spain had never lost with him, and the only two World Cup defeats of Scaloni's Argentina were under his officiating. Despite these backgrounds, FIFA chose him to officiate a final between both countries. All indications existed before the match. Nothing appeared after the result.
Before the final, the UEFA threat against Infantino, the Slovenian nationality of the entire main trio, the perfect record of Spain with Vinčić, Argentina's defeats under his officiating, and the police episode of 2020 were already known. FIFA could have avoided the controversy by appointing another referee. They chose not to.
The absurd yellow card to Enzo Fernández
During the match, Vinčić applied a particularly harsh standard against Argentina. Enzo Fernández received his first yellow card for protesting a decision by raising his fist.
It was not for a violent entry. He did not cut a goal-scoring opportunity. He did not assault any opponent. He was cautioned for a protest, even though players from both teams discussed dozens of decisions during the final. That card left him conditioned and ended up being decisive.
The expulsion of Enzo Fernandez
A first yellow that ended in expulsion: Later, Enzo Fernández committed a foul on Pau Cubarsí and received the second yellow. Argentina was left with ten players. The second sanction cannot be analyzed without recalling the first. Enzo ended up expelled because he had previously been cautioned for a common protest.
The last red card shown in a World Cup final had been Zinedine Zidane's in 2006, after headbutting Marco Materazzi. Twenty years later, Enzo was expelled for a double yellow: the first for protesting and the second for a foul. A situation completely uncomparable to Zidane's aggression.
The play by Marc Cucurella that neither the referee nor the VAR reviewed
During a play in the match, Marc Cucurella covered his mouth while addressing Messi. The Argentine captain immediately demanded that the play be reviewed and called for the expulsion of the Spaniard. However, neither Slavko Vinčić nor the VAR decided to analyze what happened.
Marc Cucurella covered his mouth
There was no call from the booth, the sequence was not reviewed, and Cucurella remained on the field. While Enzo ended up expelled for a double yellow initiated with a sanction for protesting, the action claimed by Messi was not even reviewed.
Spain committed 16 fouls and received no cards
Spain committed 16 fouls during the match. Despite that number, no Spanish player received a single yellow card. Numerous fouls were called without a caution, and others were simply ignored.
After the final, compilations of Spanish fouls that Vinčić did not sanction began to circulate. The contrast was absolute: Argentina ended up with Enzo expelled for a double yellow, while Spain finished the match without receiving any cards despite committing 16 fouls.
The VAR supported all the decisions
Bastian Dankert did not correct any of the decisions claimed by Argentina. He did not recommend reviewing Cucurella's action nor intervened in the other plays reported by the National Team.
The technology, which was supposed to prevent serious errors, ended up supporting the actions of the main referee. The international campaign against Argentina was left in ridicule
Throughout the World Cup, it was claimed that the competition was rigged for Argentina. Infantino was accused of wanting to gift another Cup to Messi, and every favorable decision was presented as a supposed proof of corruption.
The offensive extended beyond football. International figures, activists, and communicators joined a coordinated campaign to discredit the country.
Bastian Dankert
Samuel L. Jackson, for example, called for no one to support the National Team and claimed that Argentina was “one of the most racist countries, if not the most racist in the world”.
After the final, all those who claimed that Argentina had bought the World Cup were completely exposed and ridiculed. According to their own logic, the National Team would have bought all the matches except the only one
