Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes who was handed a 10-match ban by FIFA for his scuffle with Spanish players, termed the sanctions as ‘exaggerated’ and ‘excessive’.
“It seems exaggerated. The strange thing is also that Gavi was given one, who is the one who gives me the punch in the chest… but hey, that’s it. Now we have to appeal the sanction, the people who know about these things will see if they can overturn it. For me, it’s excessive, and I think it can be reduced,’ Paredes said after a match for his club Boca Juniors in the weekend.
Last week, FIFA has handed bans to three Argentina players besides a Spain player for the ugly scenes witnessed after the final whistle of the FIFA World Cup final where Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 to lift the title for the second time.
Alongside Paredes, defender Nahuel Molina was handed a seven-game ban and Thiago Almada was given a one-game suspension. Meanwhile, Spain’s Gavi was also sanctioned.
Argentina players, angry at losing their World Cup title, had clashed with their Spanish counterparts at the New York/New Jersey Stadium. The game had also seen Enzo Fernandez picking up a yellow card in extra time after Ferran Torres had scored what turned out to be Spain’s winning goal.
The scuffle had started after the final whistle when Argentina’s Paredes pushed Gavi to the ground while the European side was celebrating their triumph. Paredes faced three assault counts while Molina faced two. Both players were also fined $90,000 each.
According to a report by Reuters, Paredes was facing three counts of assault while teammate Molina was facing two. The duo was fined $90,000 each.
Argentina’s Thiago Almada and Spain’s Gavi faced one count each of unsporting behaviour, while Argentina’s assistant coach Roberto Ayala faced one assault count.
Ayala, who had apologised for his part in the altercation, was banned for three games, and handed a fine of $30,000. Almada and Gavi too have been handed $30,000 fines.
The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) were fined a total of $321,000 for multiple disciplinary breaches during the World Cup, including the display by some players of a banner declaring “Las Malvinas Son Argentinas” (“The Falklands are Argentine”) following their semi-final win over England.
The AFA was also ordered to play Argentina’s next two home matches with spectators limited to 50 per cent of capacity.