Explaining why 23 million fans have signed a petition to permanently expel Argentina from the World Cup.
On 24 July 2026, during the 2026 World Cup, Argentina finished as runners-up after losing 0-1 to Spain in the final after 120 minutes of extra time.
But suddenly, why did 23 million fans sign a petition to permanently bar them from involvement in the World Cup?
An online petition campaign titled “Argentina Out,” calling for the permanent ban of Argentina’s national team from the World Cup, has attracted widespread global attention, with over 23 million signatures from people in about 170 countries—far surpassing the original goal of 5 million.
The petition began during the 2026 World Cup, accusing FIFA and the referees of favoring Argentina and captain Lionel Messi, questioning why other teams should compete if the winner was predetermined, and demanding Argentina’s expulsion for fairness to all teams.
Ultimately, Argentina failed to win the championship, losing 0-1 to Spain in the final with Ferran Torres scoring the winning goal in the 106th minute. This marked Spain’s second World Cup title. The final was filled with controversy over refereeing, led by Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić.
Although the petition has over 23 million signatures, it still trails the world record for the most-signed petition in history, held by the Jubilee 2000 campaign in 1997, which sought to cancel the debt of poor countries and gathered over 24 million signatures—about one million more.
However, the website ArgentinaOut.com, which hosts the campaign, has no official affiliation with FIFA or any football federation, and the petition carries no legal or sporting authority. FIFA’s disciplinary rules do not allow public petitions to suspend or expel national teams from future competitions. Any sanction against a national team must begin with an official disciplinary investigation, such as cases involving ineligible players, discrimination, match-fixing, or on-field disturbances.