Groucho Marxism

The 2026 World Cup finished just over a week ago. As I have noted before on this blog, it was a World Cup that was mired in controversy from long before a ball was even kicked, and this controversy continued throughout the tournament. One particular cloud that hung over the latter stages of tournament was created by a growing sense that the World Cup was rigged in favour of Argentina, or more accurately in favour of its star player, Lionel Messi. The main evidence put forward in defence of this claim relates to some questionable refereeing decisions. Of course questionable refereeing decisions happen all the time in football; it is arguably just part of the game. But what is being alleged here is a systematic bias in favour of Argentina.

Perhaps the most egregious example of this apparent bias occurred in Argentina’s round of 16 game against Egypt, when a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review overturned an Egyptian goal for a foul on an Argentina player in the build-up. The foul was far from obvious, if it was even a foul at all, so the goal should not have been overturned by VAR, which is only meant to be invoked for clear and obvious errors by the referee. There was also controversy surrounding the length of time between the supposed foul and the goal being scored. In Argentina’s quarterfinal against Switzerland, VAR again reversed a call against Argentina, dismissing a Swiss player for simulation (diving). Again, VAR should not have been invoked in this situation.

In the semi-final against England, the Argentina players spent the first twenty minutes or so basically beating up the English players, with little intervention from the referee. The Argentina players also faced no punishment from FIFA for holding up a political banner after the game. Then in the final against Spain, the Spaniards had a perfectly good goal disallowed for a foul that nobody apart from the referee could see. The final also saw a particularly unedifying incident when Messi attempted to get Spain’s Marc Cucurella sent off for covering his mouth whilst talking. Although technically this is a sending off offence, it was obvious to everyone (including Messi) that Cucurella was simply indicating where his teammate had been injured.

This latter incident added to a sense that Messi had been attempting to influence – and in many cases, succeeding in influencing – referees throughout the course of the World Cup. And not just in this World Cup. Footage has emerged of an incident during Argentina’s quarterfinal against the Netherlands in the 2022 World Cup when an Argentina player deliberately handled the ball and Messi apparently instructed the referee not to give a foul. The knowing look on the Netherlands’ captain Virgil van Dijk’s face said it all. Argentina was awarded no less than 5 penalties during regular and extra time in the 2022 World Cup, setting a record for a single team in one tournament. Needless to say, it was Messi who took all of these penalties.

Footage has also emerged of an incident during Argentina’s quarterfinal against Germany at the 2010 World Cup when the young German player Thomas Müller, who was having the tournament of his life up to that point, was booked for a handball when the ball had clearly hit his chest. It was again Messi who apparently influenced the referee to give the foul. Argentina were already 3-0 down at that point and would go on to lose 4-0, thanks largely to the disastrous management of former legend Diego Maradona. But Müller’s yellow card meant he missed Germany’s the semi-final against Spain, which the Germans narrowly lost 1-0. Who knows what might have happened in that game had Müller been eligible to play.

I was initially sceptical of the claim that the World Cup was rigged in favour of Argentina. Having reviewed the evidence, however, I think it is undeniable. My initial scepticism that the World Cup was rigged was based partly on me not wanting it to be true. I have loved the World Cup ever since I was a 9-year-old boy and the idea that it might be rigged is anathema to me. But we cannot deny the evidence in front of our eyes. Moreover, FIFA had a clear motive to rig the World Cup in this way. Messi is the preeminent global superstar in football and the longer he and Argentina stayed in the tournament, the more likely it was that people would continue to watch. And the longer people continue to watch, the more money FIFA makes.

Those who are still sceptical of the claim that the World Cup was rigged might argue that Argentina did not ultimately win the World Cup, which counts against the theory. There are a few things to say in response to this. First, Argentina made it to the final, which was enough to ensure that they and Messi stayed in the tournament until the end. Second, Argentina were so hopelessly outclassed by Spain in the final it would have been impossible to rig the game in Argentina’s favour without making it completely obvious (although the referee did make an attempt with the disallowed goal I mentioned above). And third, the appalling reaction of the Argentina players at the final whistle suggested that on some level they believed victory was in the bag.

What the Argentina players perhaps didn’t realize was that FIFA was walking something of a tightrope. On the one hand they clearly favoured an Argentina victory; but on the other, they couldn’t make their bias too obvious without completely discrediting the whole competition. Given the way Argentina played (or didn’t play) in the final, allowing them to win would have been a travesty that could have irreparably tarnished the image of the World Cup and football more generally. Thankfully FIFA had just enough sense to not allow that to happen. Even so, the obvious bias ran throughout this tournament, and particularly in the latter stages, will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of many football fans around the world.