Almost Guinness record – 23 million sign petition to ban Argentina from World Cups

Argentina's run to the 2026 World Cup final continues to divide opinion, and now the backlash has reached unprecedented levels.

Despite Argentina's insistence that they were hard done by in the final, a massive online campaign has emerged calling for the Albiceleste to be permanently removed from future World Cups. The petition, titled "Leave, Argentina", has attracted more than 23 million signatures from supporters demanding FIFA impose a lifetime ban on the South American nation.

According to Euro News, the petition reached 23,316,108 signatures. Its creators accuse FIFA and match officials of consistently favouring Argentina and Lionel Messi throughout the tournament, asking: "Why should the rest of the world compete when the winner is already known? Exclude Argentina from the World Cup and give everyone a fair chance."

Originally aiming for just five million signatures, the campaign ended up surpassing that figure by a huge margin, reflecting widespread frustration among fans who believe Argentina received preferential treatment from both FIFA and referees during the competition.

Once the petition closed, it came within touching distance of becoming the most-signed petition ever recorded. The current Guinness World Record is held by "Jubilee 2000", a global campaign launched in 1997 that collected more than 24 million signatures urging wealthy nations to cancel the debts of the world's poorest countries by the year 2000.

Although the campaign generated enormous support, it had no impact on FIFA's stance, and Argentina's place at future World Cups remains unchanged. For many of those who backed the petition, the team's defeat in the final to Spain was the only sense of satisfaction.

The message displayed on the petition's official website summed up that feeling with the words: "FIFA ignored us, but Spain kept its promises, thank you Spain."

Controversy surrounding Argentina stretched well beyond the final itself. Throughout the tournament, several refereeing decisions involving the eventual runners-up were heavily debated, while critics also pointed to a number of aggressive incidents involving Argentine players, including shirt-pulling, reckless challenges and physical confrontations.

One of the biggest talking points came during the group-stage clash with Algeria, where Lionel Messi escaped a red card after a heavy tackle on Aissa Mandi. Numerous refereeing analysts argued that the challenge deserved a straight dismissal.

The controversy intensified again in the Round of 16 against Egypt. Argentina recovered to claim a dramatic 3-2 victory, but Egyptian head coach Hossam Hassan questioned the fairness of the contest afterwards, claiming his side had been beaten by influences both on and off the pitch. He even suggested commercial interests played a role in ensuring Messi remained in the tournament.