An online petition demanding that the 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain be replayed has gathered more than 86,000 signatures, according to the campaign hosted on Change.org. The initiative was launched by Argentine supporter Gisela Sánchez, who contests the performance of Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić in the match, which Spain won 1-0 after extra time with a goal by Ferran Torres. The petition text alleges that the referee was “controversial and corrupt” and that video evidence shows he was “bought to influence the result,” but it does not present any concrete proof to support those claims.

Spanish media reacted with disbelief to the scale of the protest. In the radio programme El Larguero, journalist Yago de Vega questioned the logic of demanding a replay when Argentina failed to register a single shot on target during the entire 120 minutes. Argentine head coach Lionel Scaloni publicly acknowledged that Spain were the deserved winners, saying: “Was the refereeing unfair? No, not at all. We lost because they played better than us. We have to accept that.” FIFA has not commented on the petition, and the governing body’s Integrity Task Force confirmed that it found no evidence of match-fixing or suspicious betting activity across all 104 matches of the tournament.

The petition carries no legal or institutional force. Under football’s regulations, match replays are reserved for exceptional circumstances and can only be ordered by the relevant governing bodies. A similar French petition demanding a replay of the semi-final against Spain, which gathered more than 82,000 signatures, produced no practical consequence. The final itself was marked by post-match altercations involving Argentine players Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina, as well as assistant coach Roberto Ayala, prompting FIFA to open a disciplinary investigation.

During the tournament, a separate global petition calling for Argentina to be permanently banned from FIFA competitions, titled “Argentina Out,” amassed 23,316,108 signatures from supporters in roughly 170 countries, falling just short of the Guinness World Record held by the 1997 Jubilee 2000 debt-relief campaign. That petition was closed by its organisers after the final, with a message reading: “FIFA ignored us, but Spain kept its promise… thank you, Spain.” The replay petition remains active on Change.org, but no official review or response from FIFA is expected under current regulations.