Lionel Scaloni, Argentina's manager, broke down in tears during his post-match press conference after his side's 1-0 World Cup final defeat to Spain on Sunday. He was speaking about his future when he left the room, visibly distraught.
The defeat, decided by Ferran Torres's extra-time goal in New Jersey, left Argentina's players and fans reeling. The defending champions failed to register a single shot on target over 120 minutes and played with 10 men after Enzo Fernandez was sent off in the 93rd minute. Goalkeeper Emi Martinez was kept busy before Torres finally beat him in the 106th minute.
“Scaloni in tears after World Cup loss as 82,000 fans petition for replay over referee corruption.”
After the final whistle, ugly scenes erupted. Leandro Paredes was seen kicking and punching, shoving Eric Garcia to the ground and grappling with Gavi, while Nahuel Molina threw a punch at Rodri. FIFA is now investigating the behaviour of Argentina's players.
Now, more than 82,000 Argentina fans have signed a Change.org petition demanding the final be replayed. The petition, authored by Gisela Sanchez, accuses Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic of a 'corrupt' performance, claiming video evidence shows he was 'bought to influence the match's outcome'. Vincic blew 46 fouls, 25 against Argentina. Fernandez received two yellow cards – one for dissent, one for a reckless challenge on Pau Cubarsi.
The petition is one of many on Change.org; a counter-petition calling for Argentina to be banned from all future World Cups racked up over 29 million signatures before closing. 'If we allow corruption to go unnoticed on this global stage, we are setting a bad example,' Sanchez wrote. Whether FIFA will heed either call remains to be seen.