It is now time for FIFA to take decisive action.

(Image: Goal.com)

The World Cup is not a theatre for street thugs, it is a major international sporting event which demands professional behaviour in winning and losing.

The 2026 World Cup final did more than crown Spain as world champions. It exposed the worst side of Argentina’s national team. The things they did are unworthy of football fans, the World Cup and FIFA.

The football itself was eventually overshadowed by brutal, needless aggression, poor discipline and an attitude that fell far short of what one expects from a World Cup finalist. Instead of accepting defeat with dignity, too many Argentine players allowed frustration to degenerate into behaviour more befitting a street brawl than the world’s greatest sporting occasion. Behaving like thugs is not behaviour becoming a professional sportsman.

What disappoints me most, however, is Lionel Messi, a player that I had respected since his first days in FC Barcelona. And one should note that had it not been for FC Barcelona there is a great chance no one would have ever even heard of Leo Messi. But, in any event, he was the captain of the Argentinian team and great captains are measured not only by what they do with the ball but by how they lead when everything is going wrong. Messi had the authority, experience (being like a father to some of his mates) and stature to calm his teammates and remind them that millions of young footballers were watching. Instead, he remained a passive (complicit) figure while Argentina’s image deteriorated around him.

Nor did the closing ceremony improve that image. Turning away from Spain’s celebrations projected resentment rather than respect. Defeat is painful, but recognising the merit of the winners is one of the defining qualities of true sportsmanship. And it also reflects a lack of gratitude to the country that made him. Leo Messi was «made in Spain» not Argentina.

That is an additional irony that makes the episode even more disappointing. Messi became the footballing icon the world knows largely because of the years he spent in Spain. It was there that he developed into one of the greatest players in history. Whether one supports Barcelona, Real Madrid or any other club, it would have been fitting to see him acknowledge that connection with a greater display of grace after Spain’s triumph.

For me, this final leaves me «over the moon» celebrating my country’s victory and second star after sixteen long years, but it also leaves a bitter aftertaste. Messi’s footballing legacy remains extraordinary, but his last World Cup appearance will also be remembered for a captaincy that, in my view, fell well short of the standards expected from one of the greatest players ever to play the game.

There are defeats, and there are moral defeats. Argentina suffered both. Losing to Spain is no disgrace; refusing to lose with dignity is. The final whistle did not tarnish Argentina’s football—it exposed its character. And the greatest disappointment was not the action of those violent and low class players, it was the actions (as lack of action) of Lionel Messi. History will remember his genius, but this was the evening when genius was eclipsed by silence. A captain is not merely the finest footballer on the pitch; he is the custodian of his team’s honour. When that honour dissolved into petulance and resentment, Messi stood by instead of standing up. That silence may prove to be the saddest image of his final World Cup.

And I, along with many people throughout the world, feel that FIFA should take immediate and resounding action against the Argentinian Football Association for the behaviour of their players. Not only for the disgraceful lack of sportsmanship but also for using the World Cup to instigate violence by promoting political ideas concerning the Malvinas or Falkland Islands.

CHEERS

It is now time for FIFA to take decisive action.

(Image: Goal.com)

The World Cup is not a theatre for street thugs, it is a major international sporting event which demands professional behaviour in winning and losing.

The 2026 World Cup final did more than crown Spain as world champions. It exposed the worst side of Argentina’s national team. The things they did are unworthy of football fans, the World Cup and FIFA.

The football itself was eventually overshadowed by brutal, needless aggression, poor discipline and an attitude that fell far short of what one expects from a World Cup finalist. Instead of accepting defeat with dignity, too many Argentine players allowed frustration to degenerate into behaviour more befitting a street brawl than the world’s greatest sporting occasion. Behaving like thugs is not behaviour becoming a professional sportsman.

What disappoints me most, however, is Lionel Messi, a player that I had respected since his first days in FC Barcelona. And one should note that had it not been for FC Barcelona there is a great chance no one would have ever even heard of Leo Messi. But, in any event, he was the captain of the Argentinian team and great captains are measured not only by what they do with the ball but by how they lead when everything is going wrong. Messi had the authority, experience (being like a father to some of his mates) and stature to calm his teammates and remind them that millions of young footballers were watching. Instead, he remained a passive (complicit) figure while Argentina’s image deteriorated around him.

Nor did the closing ceremony improve that image. Turning away from Spain’s celebrations projected resentment rather than respect. Defeat is painful, but recognising the merit of the winners is one of the defining qualities of true sportsmanship. And it also reflects a lack of gratitude to the country that made him. Leo Messi was «made in Spain» not Argentina.

That is an additional irony that makes the episode even more disappointing. Messi became the footballing icon the world knows largely because of the years he spent in Spain. It was there that he developed into one of the greatest players in history. Whether one supports Barcelona, Real Madrid or any other club, it would have been fitting to see him acknowledge that connection with a greater display of grace after Spain’s triumph.

For me, this final leaves me «over the moon» celebrating my country’s victory and second star after sixteen long years, but it also leaves a bitter aftertaste. Messi’s footballing legacy remains extraordinary, but his last World Cup appearance will also be remembered for a captaincy that, in my view, fell well short of the standards expected from one of the greatest players ever to play the game.

There are defeats, and there are moral defeats. Argentina suffered both. Losing to Spain is no disgrace; refusing to lose with dignity is. The final whistle did not tarnish Argentina’s football—it exposed its character. And the greatest disappointment was not the action of those violent and low class players, it was the actions (as lack of action) of Lionel Messi. History will remember his genius, but this was the evening when genius was eclipsed by silence. A captain is not merely the finest footballer on the pitch; he is the custodian of his team’s honour. When that honour dissolved into petulance and resentment, Messi stood by instead of standing up. That silence may prove to be the saddest image of his final World Cup.

And I, along with many people throughout the world, feel that FIFA should take immediate and resounding action against the Argentinian Football Association for the behaviour of their players. Not only for the disgraceful lack of sportsmanship but also for using the World Cup to instigate violence by promoting political ideas concerning the Malvinas or Falkland Islands.

CHEERS