FIFA has announced that it is launching an investigation into the actions of the Argentina national team after they defeated France on penalties to win the 2022 World Cup final.
The global governing body has ‘opened proceedings’ against the Albiceleste for potentially violating several clauses of the FIFA disciplinary code during and after the showpiece event, namely clauses for fair play and player misconduct.
Scenes from the Argentina squad’s celebrations quickly went viral as they won their third title, with controversial images of Martinez winning the Golden Glove award sparking backlash.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper was also pictured mocking defeated forward Kylian Mbappe – despite the PSG star scoring a hat-trick and converting his spot kick in the shoot-out
He was also seen holding a toy baby with the striker’s face stuck on, as well as calling for a moment of silence in the dressing room after the game to honour the death of Mbappe.
Five Argentina players were shown yellow cards by referee Szymon Marciniak, with a caution for Martinez coming during the shoot-out in which he was seen dancing after French misses and throwing the ball away before penalties.
Should the Albiceleste plead guilty to any charges that might be levelled against them, the Argentina Football Association could be faced with a sizeable fine.
However, the winners were not the only team to draw FIFA’s attentions, with Ecuador and Serbia being sanctioned with partial stadium closures for breaching the discrimination clause, with Serbia also violating the misconduct clause too.
Mexico has been fined 100,000 Swiss Francs and must play one match behind closed doors due to discriminatory chants, while FIFA has opened proceedings against Croatia for potential misconduct and offensive behaviour breaches.
