Could Argentina Really Be Banned from the 2026 World Cup? Inside the Corruption Scandal Rocking the AFA

Ten days ago, Argentina national football team learned their opponents for the group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Algeria, Austria and Jordan looked like a manageable draw — one that would allow the reigning world champions to calmly prepare for the knockout rounds. However, on December 14, serious doubts emerged over whether Argentina will take part in the tournament at all. Local media outlet La Nacional published a detailed investigation into alleged corruption involving senior football officials, raising the possibility of FIFA intervention and even a potential suspension.

At the centre of the story is ARCA, Argentina’s newly established audit and customs authority, created under President Javier Milei. The agency operates directly under presidential oversight and is authorised to investigate the use of public funds. ARCA has formally accused the Argentine Football Association and its president Claudio Tapia of allegedly misappropriating $7 million and failing to pay taxes. The agency has already requested that a criminal case be opened, and police checks are currently underway.

According to reports from El Español, police searches were carried out at a property believed to be unofficially owned by Tapia. The estate spans ten hectares and includes a mansion previously owned by Carlos Tevez, a helipad, a horse-breeding farm and a collection of 45 vintage cars. Officially, the property is registered to a pensioner and a private entrepreneur, but investigators reportedly consider these owners to be nominal and fictitious.

This case is said to be part of a broader investigation that has already seen police conduct searches at AFA headquarters and at 18 football clubs across the country. The probe focuses on suspected illegal financial operations linked to Sur Finanzas, a company owned by Ariel Vallejo, described by journalists as a close associate of Tapia. Investigators believe Sur Finanzas may have provided loans to clubs and received repayments through television or marketing rights. The company also allegedly financed the federation and the national team — exclusively, and without alternative providers.

Sources cited by journalists claim that Vallejo issued Tapia a credit card that the AFA president allegedly used on multiple occasions, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. Despite these allegations, no formal charges have yet been brought against Tapia personally. According to media reports, he remains calm and has privately assured allies that the situation is under control.

So could FIFA really ban Argentina from the World Cup? In theory, yes. If criminal proceedings are launched and Tapia is found guilty or removed from office, FIFA could interpret the situation as state interference in the affairs of an independent football federation. Under FIFA statutes, this could lead to sanctions ranging from warnings to suspension — including, in the most extreme scenario, exclusion from the final stage of the 2026 World Cup.

In practice, however, such an outcome appears highly unlikely. Even if the AFA leadership were to change, FIFA would almost certainly recognise the decision and continue cooperation. Excluding the reigning world champions from the sport’s biggest tournament would be an unprecedented and highly controversial move, especially in the absence of direct government control over team selection or competition operations.

There are also virtually no precedents of national teams being banned from the World Cup due to internal financial misconduct within their federations. Historically, the most common reason for suspension has been armed conflict. Russia was barred from qualification for the 2022 World Cup, while Yugoslavia was excluded from the 1994 tournament during the Balkan conflict. The most relevant comparable case is Kuwait, which was suspended by FIFA in 2015 due to government interference in its football federation. Its membership was only restored two and a half years later.

For now, Argentina’s place at the 2026 World Cup remains secure. But the investigation has cast a long shadow over the AFA, reminding the football world that even reigning champions are not immune to institutional crises — and that, under FIFA’s rules, politics and football are never as separate as they appear.

Published by Patrick Jane
15.12.2025