Prateek Tanmay
2 min readJul 24, 2026 06:35 PM IST
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said that the Argentina players’ conduct after the final whistle of the FIFA World Cup final was “intolerable and unacceptable.” Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes physically tangled with Spain players Eric Garcia and Gavi while Spain captain Rodri was hit in the stomach as he ran past Argentina defender Nahuel Molina to celebrate th 1-0 win.
“It cannot be allowed. In any case, I find it intolerable and unacceptable from players of that caliber, whom I had been praising in the days before and who have a magnificent coach,” De la Fuente told Spanish public broadcaster TVE.
“I want to highlight our behavior in the face of that kind of aggression and provocation,” the coach said. “Our players always kept their composure and behaved like true professionals,” he added.
Argentina assistant coach Roberto Ayala apologized Wednesday for his confrontation with Dani Olmo, which he described as a shove and not a punch.
On Monday, FIFA opened an investigation after Spain’s celebrations on beating Argentina in the World Cup final took an ugly turn when players briefly clashed on the field.
FIFA said in a statement its “disciplinary committee has appointed a Disciplinary and Ethics Prosecutor to investigate potential breaches of the (FIFA disciplinary code) with regard to the post-match incidents.” The brief statement gave no timetable for an investigation and did not name Paredes, who was not shown a red card after the game yet could face a suspension.
Spain needed extra time to win Sunday’s final 1-0 after Argentina was reduced to 10 men. Enzo Fernandez was sent off with a second yellow card in stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes.
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The Argentina players stood facing their fans, with their backs to the podium, when Spain’s squad lifted the trophy. It was an unusual show of disrespect to the new champions, who had given their opponents a guard of honor to collect their medals.
