Fifa have banned Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes for 10 international matches and fined him $90,000 for his part in the brawl that followed Spain’s 1-0 World Cup final win in New Jersey on 19 July.
The sanction, confirmed by Fifa’s disciplinary committee on Friday, is one of the heaviest handed to an individual player for post-match conduct in the tournament’s history. Right-back Nahuel Molina was suspended for seven matches and also fined $90,000, forward Thiago Almada received a one-match ban and a $30,000 fine, and Roberto Ayala, an assistant on Lionel Scaloni’s staff, was suspended for three matches.
Spain were not spared. Substitute Gavi, listed by Fifa under his full name Pablo Martín Páez Gavira, was banned for one match and fined $30,000. The Argentine Football Association (AFA) was fined $321,000 for a series of breaches including discriminatory chanting, the misconduct of its team, and the display of a banner referencing the Malvinas, which Fifa classified as a non-sporting demonstration.
Crucially, the bans apply only to national-team fixtures. Paredes, Molina and Almada remain free to play for their clubs. All parties can appeal.
What happened after the final whistle
Ferran Torres settled the final 39 seconds into the second period of extra time, thumping in from eight yards in front of a crowd of more than 80,000 to give Spain their second world title, 16 years after their first.
What followed the whistle overshadowed it. Paredes shoved Spain defender Eric García by the throat. When Gavi stepped in to separate them, Paredes pushed the midfielder to the ground. Scaloni sprinted across to drag his player away, but Paredes continued to confront Spanish players before he was restrained by team-mates. Lisandro Martínez also became entangled with Gavi. A photograph of Lamine Yamal kneeling in prayer while the scuffle raged behind him became one of the defining images of the tournament.
Argentina then declined to applaud during the medal ceremony, turning their backs as Spain collected the trophy. Fifa appointed a disciplinary and ethics prosecutor on 20 July and formally opened proceedings on 30 July, citing Article 14 paragraph 1 i) of its disciplinary code, which covers assault, and Article 14 paragraph 1 b), covering unsporting behaviour. The AFA was charged under Articles 13, 15 and 17.
Why 10 matches is more severe than it sounds
A club suspension of 10 games can be served inside two months. An international ban of the same length cannot. Argentina typically play between eight and ten fixtures a year, and with the World Cup only just finished, the calendar ahead is thin: friendlies, then South American qualifying for 2030 and the next Copa América cycle. On that arithmetic, Paredes is realistically unavailable to Argentina until 2028.
He turned 32 in June. A ban that runs into his mid-thirties, imposed immediately after a World Cup final, is close to a career sentence at international level for a player with more than 60 caps and a 2022 winner’s medal.
Fifa has issued longer, but rarely. Luis Suárez was banned for nine international matches and four months from all football for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup — still the benchmark. Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 final, delivered while the ball was in play, drew a three-match ban that was effectively symbolic because he had already retired. Measured against those, Fifa has treated the New Jersey scuffle as an assault case rather than a flashpoint of tournament emotion.
What it means going forward
For Argentina, the ruling strips depth from a midfield already facing renewal. Paredes had been a fixture of Scaloni’s squads since 2018, and losing him alongside Molina — a starter at right-back throughout the 2022 and 2026 campaigns — leaves the coach rebuilding two positions at once, with Ayala absent from the touchline for three fixtures. The AFA’s fine and the specific finding on discriminatory chanting also puts the federation on notice; repeat offences under Article 13 carry escalating penalties including matches behind closed doors.
- Paredes: 10 matches, $90,000
- Molina: 7 matches, $90,000
- Ayala (staff): 3 matches, $30,000
- Almada: 1 match, $30,000
- Gavi (Spain): 1 match, $30,000
- AFA: $321,000 fine
For Fifa, the decision sets a marker ahead of a 48-team tournament format that will only increase the number of high-stakes eliminations. The disparity between the sanctions — 10 matches for Paredes, one for Gavi — signals that governing bodies will distinguish sharply between initiating an altercation and reacting to one.
An appeal from the AFA is expected. Until it is heard, the most experienced midfielder in Argentina’s World Cup squad has played his last competitive game for his country for at least two years.
Sources: [Flashscore](https://www.flashscore.com/news/soccer-world-championship-fifa-ban-leandro-paredes-for-world-cup-final-brawl-and-hand-argentina-large-fine/4WDfTgVp/), [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/7/20/fifa-investigating-on-pitch-brawl-after-spain-vs-argentina-world-cup-final), [Fifa disciplinary update](https://inside.fifa.com/legal/news/world-cup-2026-disciplinary-update), [ESPN match report](https://www.espn.com/soccer/report/_/gameId/760517), [Democrata](https://www.democrata.es/en/sports/fifa-sanctions-paredes-with-ten-matches-and-gavi-with-one-for-the-incidents-of-the-world-cup-final/)
One flag: sources disagree on Almada’s ban (one match vs two) and on the AFA fine ($321,000 vs ~€250,000); I used the Flashscore figures. I also left out the widely repeated claim that Paredes was shown a red card — I could not confirm it.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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