FIFA announced on Friday that midfielder Leandro Paredes and several other Argentine players received fines and bans for participating in scuffles with Spanish players during the final match of the World Cup.
Furthermore, the Argentine national team was ordered to hold its next two home matches behind closed doors, although one of these restrictions has been suspended.
The Boca Juniors player Paredes will be suspended from ten international games and fined $90,000. He grabbed Eric Garcia by the neck and pulled Gavi from Spain to the ground while holding a substitute's bib. These actions triggered an escalation of incidents after the final, which Spain won 1-0 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.
Paredes' compatriot, Nahuel Molina, received a seven-match ban and is also required to pay a fine of $90,000, while Thiago Almada was suspended for one match and fined $30,000. Gavi received a similar penalty for his role in the fight.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) was fined $321,000 for violating the FIFA disciplinary code. The violations relate to using a sporting event for non-sporting demonstrations, improper team conduct, and discriminatory chants and gestures by fans.
After Argentina defeated England 2-1 in a tense World Cup semi-final, several Argentine players held up a banner reading: 'Falkland Islands are Argentine.' In 1982, Argentine forces invaded the British overseas territory in the Southwest Atlantic, prompting then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to send a naval task force to retrieve them. The conflict, which lasted 74 days from April to June 1982, resulted in the deaths of 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen, as well as three people from the islands.
AFA stated its intention to appeal the imposed sanctions and fines.