Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes was shown a red card for throwing punches at Spanish stars Eric Garcia and Gavi after the final whistle of the World Cup final, which Spain won 1-0. The ugly scenes marked the second red card for Argentina, following Enzo Fernandez's dismissal just before the end of normal time.
Match and Red Cards
Spain secured their second World Cup title with a 1-0 victory, with Ferran Torres scoring the winner in the second half of extra time. Argentina had to play extra time with ten men after Enzo Fernandez, a Chelsea midfielder, received a second yellow card for a rash challenge on Pau Cubarsi. Fernandez had been booked earlier for dissent.
Argentina attempted to hold on for penalties, but Torres's goal sparked wild celebrations at full time. Spanish players ran onto the pitch, and Argentina defender Nahuel Molina appeared to punch Spain midfielder Rodri in the stomach.
Brawl After Final Whistle
Rodri reacted and confronted Molina, while Spain defender Eric Garcia rushed to separate them. Paredes joined the fracas, kicking and grabbing Garcia by the throat. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni tried to diffuse the melee. Unused Spain substitute Gavi intervened and pushed Paredes, who retaliated by throwing punches and pushing Gavi to the floor before players from both teams separated them.
Pundit Reactions
BBC pundit Wayne Rooney commented, "Does it surprise you? It doesn't surprise me. I think we've seen this with Argentina before, and it's just not the reaction you want. We've seen some of the reaction after knocking England out in the last round as well. I think Enzo Fernandez has got what he deserves, so it's disappointing. But that's just sad. If you lose a game of football, be graceful and get out of there. It's very poor from them."
Fellow pundit Joe Hart added, "Disgusting. There was one man on the pitch who did have class, and that was Lionel Messi—he shook hands with every one of those Spanish players. The game's done, they can have absolutely no complaints about what happened today. Disgusting behaviour. Rodri, I don't think, needed to get in their faces, but when you've been wound up for 120 minutes, and you felt you've been wronged, and you've felt the referee's on your back, and you've got that win, referee's blown his whistle, leave it. And I think Argentina...are you surprised they've gone over the line again?"
Micah Richards said, "It's quite embarrassing really, because for all I give Argentina that praise in terms of how they approach the game, yes, they know Spain are a better team on the ball, but what can they do to destruct them off the ball? And in the game, they were just on the cusp every single time. The first yellow card wasn't until 40-odd minutes in the first half, but seeing that sort of stuff after the game's been played and someone's just been crowned World Cup champions, it's not good enough. Paredes there, he doesn't need to do that, he's better than that. And it doesn't stop there, it keeps going. And we all know what it's like to lose a game, we can be very frustrated, but this is not good enough."
