Leandro Paredes avoided a red card despite his involvement in a chaotic brawl following Argentina’s World Cup final defeat to Spain. This incident occurred after the full-time whistle on Sunday in New Jersey, leading to an investigation by Fifa into the post-match events.

Tensions flared as Spain substitutes rushed onto the pitch to celebrate their victory. The conflict escalated when Argentina defender Nahuel Molina appeared to throw a punch at Spain captain Rodri. Paredes then intervened, grabbing Eric Garcia by the throat and shoving him to the ground, followed by wrestling Spain’s Gavi and pushing him down while holding his substitute bib.

In an effort to restore order, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni sprinted onto the field to calm his players. Initial reports from broadcasters like ITV and BBC indicated that Paredes had been sent off, but Fifa confirmed to The Independent that no such disciplinary action was taken by referee Slavko Vincic.

Fifa announced the opening of an investigation into the melee, appointing a Disciplinary and Ethics Prosecutor to examine potential breaches of the Fifa Disciplinary Code. A statement from Fifa read:

Following an assessment of the relevant match reports... the Fifa Disciplinary Committee has appointed a Disciplinary and Ethics Prosecutor to investigate potential breaches of the FDC.

Paredes was only shown a yellow card shortly after entering the match at half-time, with no red card recorded on Fifa’s match center.