FIFA Eases Molina Ban but Paredes Faces Full Suspension
FIFA’s Appeal Committee has given Argentina a small win and a major setback in the same breath.
Nahuel Molina has seen his punishment reduced. Leandro Paredes has not been spared at all.
According to Spanish outlet Marca, the Appeal Committee cut Molina’s suspension from seven matches to four and trimmed his fine from 90,000 dollars to 60,000. The former Atlético Madrid defender will still miss a significant stretch of international football, but the original sanction has been softened.
Paredes, by contrast, remains firmly in the dock. FIFA upheld the midfielder’s 10‑match ban in full and kept his 90,000‑dollar fine intact. No reduction, no compromise.
Both sanctions stem from the fallout of the 2026 World Cup final against Spain, a night that ended with a 1-0 defeat for Argentina and has since spilled into the disciplinary corridors of Zurich and beyond.
Argentina prepares to take the fight to CAS
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) is not treating FIFA’s latest move as the end of the matter.
In an official statement, the federation confirmed it will request the full written grounds for the Appeal Committee’s decisions, a necessary step before escalating the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The AFA stressed it believes it has “sufficient arguments from both a factual and legal standpoint” to push for a review of the sanctions.
This is not happening in isolation. CAS is already dealing with another storm born from a continental showpiece: the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final between Morocco and Senegal. That case, which also revolves around a major final and its chaotic aftermath, is expected to reach a decision by the end of November.
Global football’s legal battleground is getting crowded.
Heavy fines and crowd restrictions for discriminatory chants
The individual bans sit on top of broader punishment for the behaviour of Argentina’s supporters during the World Cup.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee had sanctioned the AFA for discriminatory chants heard across several matches in the tournament, including the final against Spain last July. Spain’s 1-0 win brought them the trophy; the soundtrack from sections of the stands has now brought Argentina a hefty bill.
The federation was hit with a 321,000‑dollar fine and restrictions on crowd attendance at future national team games. Those penalties are rooted in multiple articles of FIFA’s disciplinary code and relate to incidents in fixtures against Cape Verde, Egypt, Switzerland, England and Spain.
Players and staff were not spared either. Thiago Almada received a one‑match ban, while long‑time national team figure Roberto Ayala, now part of the technical staff, was handed a three‑match suspension.
Back in August, FIFA agreed to a key AFA request: that these player suspensions could be served across both friendly and official matches played under CONMEBOL’s umbrella, “whichever comes first.” That ruling ensured the bans would be worked through more quickly, rather than hanging over major competitive windows alone.
For Molina and Paredes, though, the calendar still looks brutally long. And unless CAS intervenes, Argentina will have to navigate a crucial stretch of its next cycle without two of the most combative figures in its recent history.
