An online petition calling for Argentina to be permanently banned from the FIFA World Cup has amassed more than 23.3 million signatures from supporters across 170 countries, making it one of the largest digital campaigns of its kind, despite failing to achieve its objective.
The “Argentina Out” campaign, launched on the Change.org platform during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, was initiated by a group of football supporters who alleged that FIFA and match officials consistently favoured Argentina and its captain, Lionel Messi.
Originally targeting five million signatures, the petition rapidly surpassed its goal before closing with a total of 23,316,108 signatures, according to its organisers.
After Argentina’s 1-0 defeat to Spain in the World Cup final, the campaign’s homepage displayed the message: “FIFA ignored us but Spain delivered. Thank you Spain.”
Spain’s victory ended Argentina’s reign as world champions, while television footage captured an emotional Messi at the final whistle alongside tense exchanges involving players and officials after the match.
The petition alleged that FIFA had allowed predetermined outcomes in the tournament and demanded Argentina’s exclusion from future World Cup competitions.
“Why should the rest of the teams play in the tournament if the winner is known in advance? Exclude Argentina from the World Cup and give everyone a fair chance,” the petition stated.
Despite the unprecedented online support, the campaign has no legal or regulatory mechanism to compel FIFA to ban Argentina from its competitions.
FIFA has consistently rejected allegations of bias, maintaining that its refereeing standards and tournament procedures are designed to protect the integrity of the game. The governing body did not issue a formal response to the petition.
Argentina remains a FIFA member in good standing and is expected to compete in future international tournaments.
Although the campaign fell short of its demand for a lifetime World Cup ban, its final tally ranks among the most widely supported online petitions ever recorded.
It narrowly missed the reported record held by the Jubilee 2000 campaign, which reportedly collected 24,319,181 signatures from 166 countries in support of cancelling unsustainable debt owed by some of the world’s poorest nations before the petition was presented at the United Nations Millennium Summit in New York in December 2000.
The anti-Argentina campaign gathered momentum throughout the 2026 World Cup amid criticism from rival fans and some football pundits, who accused the South American side of displaying unsporting behaviour during several matches.
Critics also questioned a number of refereeing decisions in Argentina’s knockout-stage fixtures, alleging preferential treatment. However, no official investigation or disciplinary ruling concluded that Argentina had received improper assistance from match officials or committed offences that would justify exclusion from FIFA competitions.
With Spain’s triumph bringing Argentina’s title defence to an end, the organisers closed the petition but have not indicated whether they plan to relaunch the campaign before the next FIFA World Cup.
