FIFA announced this Friday that it has opened a disciplinary file against the Argentine Football Association (AFA) due to some events that occurred during the World Cup final, won by the Albiceleste against France on December 18 in Doha.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has initiated a procedure against the Argentine Football Association due to possible breach of articles 11 (Offensive conduct and violations of the principles of fair play) and 12 (Incorrect conduct of players and officials) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, as well as art. 44 of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Regulations and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Marketing and Media Regulations during the FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France”, explained the entity on its website.
The text does not specify the specific attitudes that have motivated the opening of the file, but it could be linked to the celebrations of the Argentine players in that final that gave much to talk about, especially that of Emiliano Martínez, who after collecting the trophy for the best goalkeeper in the World Cup He made an obscene gesture, taking the trophy to his crotch. He was also filmed in the locker room making fun of the French star, Kylian Mbappé. The French Football Federation (FFF) complained at that time about the treatment of its team and its top figure after the French defeat and the matter had great repercussions in the European country.
For this type of incident, the AFA could receive an economic sanction, although there are instances of appeal. It should be noted that under no circumstances can this type of investigation alter a sporting result.
On the other hand, FIFA indicated this Friday the opening of a disciplinary file against the Croatian Federation for “potential violations of articles 13 (discrimination) and 16 (order and security in matches) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code”, during the match for third place in the World Cup, won 2-1 against Morocco. The FIFA statement does not detail the specific attitudes either. During the celebrations of the Croatian national team, videos were broadcast on social networks in which players of that team sing nationalist chants with fascist connotations. One of the players present in the video, defender Dejan Lovren, a new Lyon player, recently defended himself against the accusations in statements to AFP, pointing out that it was “a patriotic song” that simply talks about “loving the country”. .
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee also issued other sanctions:
To the Ecuadorian Football Federation: a fine of CHF 20,000 (USD 21,500) and has been sanctioned with the closure of part of its stadium (the stands behind the goals) for breaching art. 13 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (Discrimination) as a result of the chants of the Ecuadorian fans during the Qatar-Ecuador match of the FIFA World Cup™. This sanction will be applied in the next official match played by their senior men’s team in a FIFA competition.
To the Mexican Federation of Association Football: a fine of CHF 100,000 (USD 10,800) and has been sanctioned with a match behind closed doors, a sanction that is suspended during a trial period, for breaching art. 13 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (Discrimination) as a result of the chants of the Mexican fans during the Mexico-Poland and Saudi Arabia-Mexico matches of the FIFA World Cup™. This sanction will be applied in the next official match played by their senior men’s team in a FIFA competition.
