GENEVA, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes was suspended for 10 matches and fined 90,000 U.S. dollars by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on Friday over his involvement in a confrontation during the 2026 FIFA World Cup final against Spain.
The incident occurred after the final between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19.
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee also sanctioned three other members of the Argentina delegation and Spain midfielder Gavi for the incident.
Argentina defender Nahuel Molina was suspended for seven matches and fined 90,000 dollars, while Thiago Almada received a one-match suspension and a 30,000-dollar fine. Argentina team official Roberto Ayala was suspended for three matches and fined 30,000 dollars.
Gavi was also suspended for one match and fined 30,000 dollars.
In a separate case, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) was fined a total of 321,000 dollars for multiple breaches during the World Cup, including provisions concerning the use of a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature, team misconduct, discrimination and racist abuse, and order and security at matches.
The AFA was also ordered to play its next two home matches with no more than 50 percent of stadium capacity.
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee further ordered the AFA to invest 100,000 dollars of the fine in a plan to combat discrimination. One of the two home-match restrictions and 100,000 dollars of the fine were suspended for a probationary period.
FIFA said that the parties were notified of the decisions on Friday and have 10 days to request a motivated decision, which would subsequently be published on FIFA's legal platform. The decisions remain subject to appeal.
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee opened proceedings on July 29 to investigate the conduct of the AFA and relevant players and officials during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. ■
