More than 2.5 million people have signed an unofficial petition demanding that the Argentine national team be banned from the 2026 World Cup, reports infohub.kz.
A separate website called Argentina Out was set up to collect signatures; it is not affiliated with the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) or any national federations. At the time of publication, the number of signatures had exceeded 2.5 million.
The petition's authors claim that FIFA and referees are biased towards Argentine captain Lionel Messi, giving his team an advantage in key matches. The petition text states: "It is obvious that FIFA and referees are biased towards Lionel Messi and Argentina. Why should the rest even bother participating if the winner is already predetermined? Exclude Argentina from the World Cup and give everyone else a fair chance."
The campaign was sparked by controversies over refereeing in playoff matches. After losses to Argentina, the national teams of Egypt and Switzerland expressed dissatisfaction with the referees' decisions. The president of the Egyptian Football Association, Hani Abu Rida, demanded an investigation into incidents from the Round of 16 match, including a disallowed goal and a penalty not awarded, according to the Egyptian side.