Argentina’s players rejoice after winning the 2026 World Cup football tournament quarter-final match between Argentina and Switzerland on the Kansas City Stadium in Kansas City on July 11, 2026. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
Lionel Messi’s brilliance has helped carry Argentina right into a blockbuster World Cup semifinal with England in Atlanta on Wednesday.
However the defending champions’ journey to the last 4 has been engulfed by online conspiracy theories claiming — without evidence — that the playing field has been tilted in its favor.
Social media is awash with AI-generated videos and memes that amplify this narrative, whether it’s FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Messi sharing a loving embrace on the deck of the Titanic within the type of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, or just Infantino’s face being superimposed at the center of the Sun of May at the middle of Argentina’s flag.
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From contentious refereeing decisions to claims of being handed a sort draw to the ultimate, AFP breaks down the primary incidents which have given rise to the conspiracy theories:
Messi escapes red
In Argentina’s group stage win over Algeria, with the South Americans leading 1-0, captain Lionel Messi raked his studs down the precise calf and Achilles tendon of Algeria skipper Aissa Mandi within the thirtieth minute.
Polish referee Szymon Marciniak gave Algeria a free-kick but Messi received no further sanction and would go on to attain a hat-trick.
Several pundits nonetheless were adamant that Messi had been guilty of significant foul play and under the letter of the law, must have been shown a red card that might have led to a suspension.
“It must have been a red card in my view,” said ESPN pundit and former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha.
“Messi knew he did something that might have gotten him in trouble. I personally feel it’s a red card.”
Former Bundesliga referee Patrick Ittrich agreed: “For me, that could be a red card. We have now various examples from the Bundesliga where that was punished with a red. By the letter of the law, that could be a red. If I had seen it like that on the pitch, I might have shown red.”
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Algeria’s football federation subsequently filed an official criticism to Fifa over “refereeing injustice” in the sport.
Egypt cries foul
Argentina produced one among the all-time great comebacks to maintain their World Cup campaign alive within the last 16 against Egypt, recovering from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 and reach the quarterfinals.
But Egypt’s players and training staff were outraged by several decisions by French referee Francois Letexier that went in Argentina’s favor at key moments.
The largest post-game talking point surrounded a goal scored by Egypt within the second half which was disallowed after an intervention by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), who had spotted a foul on an Argentina player several phases before Egypt’s Mostafa Zico put the ball in the online, at the opposite end of the pitch.
Several analysts questioned whether VAR had overstepped its reach.
“VAR was something too deeply and in search of something that has happened in the sport to attempt to cancel the Egypt goal,” former Fifa referee Mark Clattenburg said.
Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan also claimed that Egypt must have been awarded a penalty within the build-up to Enzo Fernandez’s late winner for Argentina.
“There seems to have been pressure on the Argentinian side on the referee that has caused this consequence,” Hassan said.
“Perhaps they desired to keep the world champions within the competition?” he told BeIn Sports.
“Perhaps they wanted Messi to remain within the running? In football, there are sometimes external aspects that transcend the technical elements.”
FIFA referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina rejected the Egyptian allegations as “unfounded.”
Pivotal VAR call
One other pivotal VAR call helped shape the consequence of Argentina’s 3-1 extra-time quarter-final win over Switzerland on in Kansas City on Saturday.
Within the seventieth minute, referee Joao Pinheiro gave Argentina’s Leandro Paredes a yellow card for a foul on Breel Embolo, shortly after Switzerland had equalised at 1-1 and were dominating the weary world champions.
Nonetheless a VAR intervention using Fifa’s recent mistaken identity rule determined that Embolo had initiated the foul in an act of simulation and the decision was overturned. Yet because Embolo had already received a yellow card, he was shown a red and sent off — leaving Switzerland right down to 10-men and halting their momentum. Argentina would on to secure victory in extra-time.
“We were punished due to a rule that, in my view, is totally unacceptable,” Swiss coach Murat Yakin said afterwards.
Many commentators though indicate that Embolo was rightly punished for a transparent dive.
“If you wish to argue Fifa is rigging the World Cup for Lionel Messi and Argentina, and a few of you’re hellbent on doing just that, you’re going to should do higher than this,” wrote USA Today columnist Nancy Armour.
A sort draw?
Critics of Argentina’s run to the semi-finals cite the rating of their opponents as evidence of favouritism by Fifa.
To this point, Argentina has not needed to face a team ranked higher than nineteenth on the earth heading into their clash with England on Wednesday. After topping a gaggle that included Algeria, Jordan and Austria, Argentina’s knockout round opponents were Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland.
But that is due largely to Fifa’s decision to seed the highest 4 teams on the earth in such a way that might keep them apart until the semifinals.
England has not faced a team ranked in the highest 10 to this point, while France did should play seventh-ranked Morocco within the quarterfinals.
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Spain has had the toughest path to the semifinals, needing to beat fifth-ranked Portugal and Belgium (ninth) on their technique to the last 4.