World Cup fans who head to social media sites like X in search of fresh insight into the tournament are instead greeted by an endless stream of memes featuring two of this year’s stand-out characters: Argentina captain Lionel Messi and Gianni Infantino, the Swiss president of FIFA.
In one, Infantino pushes a baby faced Messi around in a pram. In others, he tenderly holds his hand or cradles him in his arms.
Elsewhere, he wears an Argentina shirt or, stripped to the waist, dances a celebratory waltz with the striker in the Argentine dressing room.
The implication could hardly be clearer: FIFA, the scandal-plagued governing body of world football, wants the team playing England in today’s semi-final in Atlanta to win the trophy for what will be the fourth time.
Some will say that FIFA and its president have only themselves to blame for such damning suspicions.
After all, having cravenly presented President Donald Trump with a new award called the FIFA Peace Prize last December, FIFA then reversed a red card which would have banned the US team’s star goal-scorer, Folarin Balogun, from playing in a crucial game in this tournament – after Infantino was phoned by the President.
For many fans, that has fuelled the belief that nothing is beyond FIFA – including flouting its supposed neutrality to tilt the tournament in favour of the team that best serves its commercial and political interests.
Donald Trump holds the World Cup trophy next to FIFA president Gianni Infantino
An Argentina fan holds Messi cardboard face masks in a crowd of Argentines ahead of their World Cup fixture against Switzerland
Despite protests from FIFA officials that allegations of bias could endanger referees, totting up the ways Argentina has supposedly benefited has become one of the most popular parlour games of the 2026 World Cup.
It’s even spawned a new word – ‘VARgentina’ – which alludes to the seemingly uncanny way so many decisions by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system have fallen in Argentina’s favour.
Why favour Argentina?
Claims FIFA is biased towards Argentina are nothing new. Similar accusations surfaced at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar where Lionel Messi finally lifted the trophy after his team defeated France in a dramatic final.
At the time, conspiracy theorists argued Messi, already the biggest star in world football, had somehow reached the twilight of his career without winning the World Cup. At 35, they said, Qatar was his last chance to do it.
Latin America is one of foot ball’s most valuable markets and the notoriously venal FIFA – so ran the theory – stood to profit far more commercially from an Argentina win than from a second consecutive victory for France. And if Messi – a huge global brand – could score, so much the better for an organisation that has a long and well-documented history of corruption and self-enrichment.
A new theory has emerged during this year’s tournament: that another Argentina triumph would also suit Trump. In March, Trump welcomed Messi and his club, Inter Miami, to the White House following their victory in America’s top domestic cup competition, revealing his son, Barron, is an admirer of the striker.
It has been mooted that Trump, who is due to present the World Cup trophy alongside Infantino, would much rather hand it to Messi, who never talks publicly about politics, than to someone like French captain Kylian Mbappe, who has spoken out about France’s Far Right and might, some speculate, decide to make a Trump-flavoured statement if they win.
Two Argentina fans wear T-shirts printed with the country’s footballing legends Diego Maradona and Messi at the World Cup
Trump holds up a red card during a meeting with Infantino in the Oval Office at the White House
Messi start
Messi managed to stir up controversy in Argentina’s very first game in this tournament, against Algeria. In the 30th minute, he tackled opposing captain Aissa Mandi. Messi caught Mandi on his right calf and achilles tendon with his studs up.
As Mandi writhed in agony, the Polish referee awarded a free-kick but produced no card. Some refereeing experts argued that, had he been sent to the pitch-side monitor for a second look, Messi could have been sent off.
Instead, he remained on the pitch to complete a hat-trick, leading Argentina to a victory. The Algerian FA later filed a complaint with FIFA over the incident and two other refereeing decisions in the game.
In their next match, against Austria, Argentina also got off lightly when midfielder Alexis Mac Allister brought down Austrian Xaver Schlager from behind. The referee didn’t penalise the blatant foul, nor did VAR review it. Argentina went on to win 2-0, with Messi scoring both goals, becoming the all-time top scorer in World Cup history.
More controversy came in the next round versus Cape Verde when Messi tried to take a free kick when the opposing goalie was still organising his defensive wall.
The referee, Drew Fischer, also came under fire after forcing Cape Verde to wait to take a corner until an injured Argentine defender, Nicolas Tagliafico, had returned to the pitch following medical treatment.
Riddle of the sphinx
Few refereeing decisions have provoked more outrage during this World Cup than the one that denied Egypt a second goal in their round-of-16 clash against, yes, Argentina. With Egypt leading 1-0, VAR intervened to check for a foul (that amounted to one player stepping on another’s foot well before the ball reached the penalty area) which had been missed by on-field officials.
The game ended in a 3-2 Argentine victory and prompted fury from the Egyptians, who not only questioned the foul but insisted they should have been awarded a penalty before Argentina’s third and winning goal.
‘There seems to have been pressure on the Argentinian side on the referee that has brought about this outcome,’ said Egypt coach Hossam Hassan. ‘Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition? Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running?’
Swiss missed
There was another row over a pro-Argentina VAR intervention when the team advanced to the semi-final by beating Switzerland in extra time.
It involved VAR intervening to overturn a yellow card the Portuguese referee had given Argentine player Leandro Paredes for tripping Swiss Breel Embolo.
Few disagreed with the VAR’s judgment that Embolo had gone to ground too easily. But the yellow card for Embolo meant that, because he had already incurred an earlier one, he was sent off, leaving Switzerland with 10 men.
The punishment was in keeping with FIFA rules, which had been changed just before the competition, but critics questioned whether it was applied too harshly in such a pivotal match.
Suspicious hat-trick
For conspiracy theorists, these curious decisions are nothing new. They point out that each of Argentina’s three previous World Cup triumphs has been accompanied by accusations of foul play.
The first came in 1978, when Argentina hosted the tournament under the country’s military dictatorship. Needing to beat Brazil’s goal difference to reach the final, Argentina thrashed Peru 6-0.
Oddly, the general commanding Argentina’s ruling junta visited the Peru dressing room (accompanied by former US Secretary of State and football fan Henry Kissinger) before the game.
Unproven allegations later emerged that a deal was made whereby Argentina shipped 35,000 tons of grain and weapons to Peru, as well as releasing $50 million of frozen Peruvian assets, in return for a Peruvian defeat.
Argentina’s second World Cup victory in 1986 was, of course, overshadowed by Diego Maradona’s blatant hand-assisted goal – ignored by officials – in the quarter-final against England.
Its third triumph in 2022 came after Argentina was awarded a record five penalties in seven matches. During a match against the Netherlands, Messi avoided a booking after blocking a pass with his hand. Argentina’s Leandro Paredes also committed a reckless foul and then deliberately kicked the ball at people on the sideline – yet only earned a single yellow card.
Ill omens?
There are other, smaller details, that some believe have also worked in Argentina’s favour. Argentina have enjoyed a relatively easy route to the semi-finals, never playing a team ranked higher than 19th.
They also avoided some of the more physically demanding venues, while England had to endure the altitude of Mexico City.
Cynics further note that the referee for today’s England-Argentina epic face-off is a Moroccan-American, Ismail Elfath, who has earned a reputation as a ‘good-luck charm’ for Messi, having never officiated at a match in which his team has lost. But there’s a first time for everything – and the England players will hope no one will be crying for them after their epic battle with the heirs of Diego Maradona and his ‘hand of God’.
But there’s a first time for everything – and the England players will hope no one will be crying for them after their epic battle with the heirs of Diego Maradona and his ‘hand of God’.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login