An online petition demanding that Argentina's national team be permanently banned from the World Cup has sparked widespread reaction, gathering more than 23 million signatures worldwide to become one of the most circulated petitions in history.
According to reports published by networks including RMC and Eurosport, the petition was titled "Argentina Out" and drew 23,316,108 signatures from around 170 countries. That figure blew past the 5 million target its organisers had set.
Launched during the 2026 World Cup, the petition accused FIFA and match referees of bias towards Argentina and their captain Lionel Messi. Its text read: "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."
Argentina failed to win the latest edition of the World Cup, though, losing the final to Spain 0-1.
Their run through the tournament had been dogged by refereeing controversy, none more so than the round-of-16 clash with Egypt.
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It came close to a world record
Reports suggested the number of signatories brought the petition close to entering the Guinness World Records. It fell fewer than a million signatures short of the record for the most signed petition in history.
That record still belongs to the "Jubilee 2000" campaign, launched in 1997 to call for the cancellation of poor countries' debts. It gathered more than 24 million signatures at the time, according to Guinness World Records.
Without any impact on FIFA's decisions
Wide as its circulation was, the petition had no effect on FIFA's decisions, and the governing body never responded to its demands.
Once Argentina lost the final to Spain, the organisers signed off their message with the phrase "FIFA ignored us, but Spain kept its promise... thank you Spain".
For all the stir it caused, the petition remained nothing more than an online initiative, with no legal or sporting bearing on Argentina's participation in international tournaments.