13 theories: conspiracy obsession flares up in Argentina

"Do you remember that goalkeepers used to inspect the goal in the past? And make sure the net was fixed in place and check its condition? This is something I have not seen at this World Cup. So is it possible that the ball went through the net?"

That's the latest theory from one of the users who insist the ball crossed the line in that miraculous moment Cubarsí cleared away. 

Backers of the theory point to the ball's shadow on the goal line as "evidence". From there it splinters into other claims, including the possibility that someone tampered with the electronic chip inside the ball and moved it at will.

Threats to the players' families: they were not allowed to win

"The Argentine players and their families were threatened. They could not win the final. This information came from officials in Argentine football who were in the United States."

Journalist Sergio Oviedo made that claim. According to other sources, every family was threatened without exception, which is why so many of them stayed away from the final.

One theory claims FIFA hit the Argentina national team with a surprise doping test just minutes before kick-off, throwing the players off both physically and mentally.

FIFA insist every medical protocol followed the tournament's usual standards, and the Argentine delegation lodged no objection or complaint.

Older fans, of course, cast their minds back to the 1994 World Cup and Diego Maradona's positive sample, when he delivered his immortal line: "They cut off my legs."

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The theory goes further still. Argentina lost on purpose, part of a grand plan cooked up by international parties hostile to the country and enraged by the "Malvinas Islands" banner the players raised after beating England.

The British government

Back to that Malvinas banner. The theory claims Gianni Infantino told Messi he had to hand over the trophy, because knocking Argentina out was no longer possible once all the tickets had sold. Punishment could come later instead, in the shape of a ten-year suspension.

One TikTok user goes even further: "The British government is the one that pushed FIFA to take extreme measures against the Argentina national team. And by coincidence, Lisandro Martinez and Cristian Romero, who carried the Malvinas banner, both suffered injuries."

This theory states that no national team can win the World Cup twice in a row, and therefore Argentina were not allowed to retain the title.

Its proponents ignore the fact that Italy and Brazil have both done exactly that. They insist the tournament needed a European champion "for commercial, television or political reasons", depending on each person's preference.

Infantino wants to be re-elected

Another strand of the theory claims Infantino struck a deal with the European Union. Spain would win the World Cup in exchange for the European bloc and the Spanish Football Federation guaranteeing their votes in the FIFA presidential elections scheduled for 2027.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, so the story goes, threatened to withdraw his support for Infantino if Argentina were crowned world champions. That pressure, they claim, forced the Argentine players to yield.

Just three tweets pushing this theory, without a shred of evidence, racked up more than two million views.

The theory claims that this crisis reached the dressing room minutes before the match and psychologically affected the players, before later extending to the airport, where the phone of Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia was confiscated and the return flight was held for two hours.

The Argentine Football Association has denied these claims.

American authorities are, however, investigating commercial dealings linked to the Argentine Association, and have requested information about communications connected to Claudio Tapia and other officials.

The Freemasonry theory and the rituals of transferring an entity

Grab the popcorn for this one. It all began with the famous photograph of Lionel Messi bathing Lamine Yamal as an infant, which some considered a "Masonic initiation ritual" or "a process of transferring a spiritual entity".

Proponents of the theory alleged that Barcelona operate as a "Masonic club", and that the element of water represents a "baptism" symbolising the transfer of footballing dominance from South America to Europe.

These messages also linked the photograph to certain numerical patterns associated with the final, without presenting any documents or testimonies to back the claims up. 

Some went further still, analysing the date of the final, the timing of the decisive goal in extra time (the 106th minute), and even the architectural design of the MetLife stadium, all in search of alleged connections to Freemasonry or "global elites".

A symbol resembling the Masonic emblem even appeared within Argentina's crest on some television broadcasts. That was enough to stir the enthusiasm of some.

According to this theory, the injuries to Lisandro Martínez and Cristian Romero, the Argentina national team's failure to register a single shot on target throughout the match, and their excessively defensive positioning were all the result of agreements with betting companies, rather than being down to Spain's complete dominance of possession.

Spain handed its military bases to the United States in exchange for the World Cup

One theory claims that Spain agreed to let the United States use the Rota and Morón military bases to carry out attacks against Iran, in exchange for winning the World Cup.

No verifiable documents, testimonies or information back up any of it.

The claims also flatly contradict the official position of the Spanish government, which "categorically" denied that the United States used those bases in its operations against Iran. Madrid affirmed that it has not permitted this and will not do so.

No official document has surfaced to date indicating any change in that position, contrary to what these misleading messages promote.

Many fans talk of supporters and players suffering an energy drain, saying they felt "something strange", or that their energy had been "drawn out", believing that the elites or the global order intervened "vibrationally" because they wanted to see Spain crowned world champions.

Spanish platform "Maldita" revealed that just two clips promoting this idea racked up more than 8 million views on TikTok.

Other accounts go further still, claiming that Argentina fell victim to black magic or witchcraft. Some even insist this information reached them "from the other world".

Referee Slavko Vincic

Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic did not escape the accusations either. Many Argentinians cast doubt over his performance, and around 100,000 signatures piled up on the "Change.org" platform demanding a replay of the World Cup final.

Those behind the petition allege that the referee delivered a "controversial and corrupt" performance, and that he had "been bought to influence the outcome of the match".