TOM LEONARD: Are all these controversial decisions proof there IS a conspiracy for Argentina to win the Cup – and please Trump?

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In one of them, Infantino pushes a baby in a stroller facing Messi. In some cases, he holds her hand affectionately or takes her into his arms.

Elsewhere, he’s wearing an Argentina jersey or, stripped to the waist, dancing a celebratory waltz with the striker in the Argentina dressing room.

What this means could not be clearer: FIFA, world football’s scandal-plagued governing body, wants the team playing England in today’s semi-final in Atlanta to win the cup for the fourth time.

Some would say that FIFA and its president are solely responsible for such damning doubts.

After all, FIFA, which last December presented President Donald Trump with a new award, cowardly called the FIFA Peace Prize, rescinded the red card that would have banned the US team’s star striker, Folarin Balogun, from playing in a key match in this tournament; This happened after Infantino was telephoned by the President.

For many fans, this has fueled the belief that nothing is beyond FIFA; This includes disregarding its supposed neutrality to tilt the tournament in favor of the team that best serves its commercial and political interests.

An Argentinian fan holds Messi’s cardboard face masks in the Argentinian crowd ahead of their World Cup match against Switzerland

Despite objections from FIFA officials that allegations of bias could endanger referees, listing the ways Argentina allegedly benefited has become one of the most popular parlor games of the 2026 World Cup.

A new word, ‘VARgentina’, has even emerged, implying that many decisions made by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system have ended in Argentina’s favour.

Why should we choose Argentina?

Allegations that FIFA is biased against Argentina are nothing new. Similar accusations emerged at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Lionel Messi’s team finally lifted the trophy after defeating France in a dramatic final.

At the time, conspiracy theorists suggested that Messi, already the biggest star in world football, had somehow reached the twilight of his career without winning the World Cup. At 35, they said Qatar was his last chance to do it.

Latin America is one of football’s most valuable markets, and corrupt FIFA (the theory goes) was making much more commercial profit from Argentina’s win than from France’s second straight win. And if Messi, a huge global brand, can score, all the better for an organization with a long and well-documented history of corruption and self-enrichment.

A new theory emerged in this year’s tournament: Another Argentine victory would suit Trump. In March, Trump hosted Messi and his club Inter Miami at the White House after their victory in America’s biggest domestic cup competition and announced that his son Barron was a fan of the striker.

It has been suggested that Trump, who will present the World Cup trophy with Infantino, would prefer to give it to Messi, who has never openly talked about politics, rather than to someone like French captain Kylian Mbappe, who talks about France’s far-right and, according to some, may decide to make a Trump-style statement if he wins.

Two Argentine fans wore T-shirts printed with the country’s football legends Diego Maradona and Messi at the World Cup

Trump showed a red card during his meeting with Infantino in the Oval Office at the White House

Messi’s beginning

Messi managed to create controversy in Argentina’s first match of this tournament against Algeria. He intervened against rival captain Aissa Mandi in the 30th minute. With his studs up, Messi caught Mandi by the right calf and Achilles tendon.

While Mandi was writhing in pain, the Polish referee awarded the free kick but did not give a card. Some referee experts argued that Messi could be sent off if he was sent to the pitchside monitor for a second check.

Instead, he stayed on the field and scored a hat-trick to lead Argentina to victory. The Algerian Football Federation later filed a complaint with FIFA over the incident and two other referee decisions in the game.

Argentina came up short in their next match against Austria, when midfielder Alexis Mac Allister brought down Austrian Xaver Schlager from behind. The referee did not penalize the obvious foul and VAR did not review it. Argentina won 2–0 with Messi scoring both goals and becoming the all-time top scorer in World Cup history.

More controversy arose in the next round against Cape Verde, when Messi attempted to take a free kick while the opposition goalkeeper was still manning the defensive wall.

Referee Drew Fischer also came under fire after forcing Cape Verde to wait for a corner until injured Argentine defender Nicolas Tagliafico returned to the field following medical treatment.

sphinx riddle

Few refereeing decisions during this World Cup have generated more outrage than the one that prevented Egypt from scoring a second goal against Argentina in the round of 16. In the match where Egypt was leading 1-0, VAR intervened for a foul that the field officials missed (meaning one player stepped on another’s foot long before the ball reached the penalty area).

The match ended in a 3–2 win for Argentina, sparking anger from the Egyptians; The Egyptians not only questioned the foul but insisted they should have been awarded a penalty before Argentina’s third and winning goal.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said, “It seems like the Argentinian side had pressure on the referee to produce this result.” ‘Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition? Maybe they wanted Messi to stay in the race?’

Switzerland missed

Another controversy arose due to pro-Argentinian VAR intervention after the team beat Switzerland in extra time to advance to the semi-finals.

This incident involved the intervention of VAR to cancel the yellow card given by the Portuguese referee to Argentinian player Leandro Paredes for tripping the Swiss Breel Embolo.

Few disagreed with VAR’s decision that Embolo went down too easily. However, Embolo’s yellow card meant that he was sent off as he had received a yellow card before, leaving Switzerland with 10 men.

The penalty was in line with FIFA rules, which were changed just before the match, but critics questioned whether the penalty was applied too harshly in such an important match.

Doubtful hat-trick

For conspiracy theorists, these interesting decisions are nothing new. They point out that each of Argentina’s three previous World Cup victories was accompanied by accusations of foul play.

The first of these took place in 1978, when Argentina hosted the tournament under a military dictatorship. Argentina, which had to overcome Brazil’s goal difference to advance to the final, defeated Peru 6-0.

Strangely, the general who runs Argentina’s ruling junta visited the Peru dressing room (accompanied by former US Secretary of State and football fan Henry Kissinger) before the match.

Unsubstantiated allegations later emerged that a deal had been made in which Argentina, in exchange for Peru’s defeat, sent 35,000 tons of grain and weapons to Peru, as well as releasing $50 million in frozen Peruvian assets.

Argentina’s second World Cup victory in 1986 was, of course, overshadowed by Diego Maradona’s apparent hand-assisted goal (ignored by the officials) in the quarter-final against England.

Their third victory of 2022 came after Argentina conceded a record five penalties in seven matches. In the match against the Netherlands, Messi avoided a yellow card after blocking the pass with his hand. Argentinian Leandro Paredes also committed a reckless foul and then deliberately kicked the ball to people on the sidelines, but earned only a single yellow card.

Bad omens?

There are other, smaller details that some believe work in Argentina’s favor. Argentina had a relatively easy route to the semi-finals and never faced a team ranked higher than 19th.

While England had to endure the altitude of Mexico City, they also avoided some of the more physically demanding venues.

Cynics also state that the referee of today’s England-Argentina match is Moroccan-American Ismail Elfath, who has not officiated in any match his team lost and has gained a reputation as a ‘good luck charm’ for Messi. But there’s a first time for everything and the England players hope no one will cry for them after their epic battle with Diego Maradona’s heirs and his ‘hand of God’.

But there’s a first time for everything and the England players hope no one will cry for them after their epic battle with Diego Maradona’s heirs and his ‘hand of God’.