CHICAGO: As Argentina prepare for a World Cup semifinal on Wednesday against England, the team’s success in the competition is being overshadowed by several controversies.
The first was Egypt’s disallowed goal in the July 7 clash that the South Americans went on to win 3-2 in the final minutes, prompting widespread allegations among fans that decisions by the FIFA referees favored the reigning champions.
Anger over the defeat fueled reports that the FBI is investigating allegations that the Argentina Football Association money laundered more than $300 million through Miami sources, an allegation that the FBI does not deny but declined to comment on for Arab News.
It was also alleged that US President Trump was angry with the referee rulings prompting speculation that the FBI investigation might be political. However, the original allegation of money laundering was not made by the White House or the FBI, but by Argentina’s Ministry of Security.
The alleged FBI investigation was first reported by Argentina’s largest newspaper, El Nacion, surfacing after the world champions’ match against Cape Verde and alleging that FBI agents and US Justice Department prosecutors had questioned Argentinian businessman Guillermo Tofoni in relation to the case.
La Nacion also reported that the Egyptian Football Association and the head coach of the national team went on the record about “serious concerns” over refereeing and decisions by the video assistant referee after their match against Argentina.
With the World Cup dominating the attention of American audiences, the story was quickly picked up, first by the Miami Herald newspaper. But without FBI confirmation the story has not received widespread mainstream media coverage.
Officials at the FBI’s Miami office declined to comment. They told Arab News that “the FBI does not confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation except in rare circumstances when the public’s assistance is requested.”
But that has not prevented some media outlets from reporting on the allegations.
The Miami Herald reported that a Miami business was “linked to FBI probe of $300 million send to Argentine soccer body.”
Yahoo Sports reported that the FBI probe “casts shadow over Argentina’s World Cup run.”
The alleged scandal involving Argentina has only increased the anger felt by Egyptian and Arab fans who believe that FIFA referees cheated the Egyptian team to allow Argentina to win and proceed to the finals.
One of Egypt’s goals was ruled out by VAR late in the match, while Argentina’s winner escaped similar scrutiny after Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah’s appeal for a penalty just moments before was dismissed. Argentina were awarded a penalty early in the game, which was missed by Lionel Messi.
After the match Egypt filed a formal protest with FIFA against French referee Francois Letexier over alleged biased officiating. The Egyptian Football Association accused the match officials of “double standards.”
In a recent appearance on “The Dan Le Batard Show,” legendary Telemundo announcer Andres Cantor, who is Argentinian, called the allegations “BS.”
Despite the denial of foul play, questions regarding the alleged investigation continue to be asked on social media.
Author and researcher Dr. Sam Youssaf said on X: “BREAKING: the FBI has found MAJOR Evidence showing that Argentina has been Bribing Referees in the FIFA World Cup. If Argentina are found guilty of Fraud & Bribery, they could get Disqualified from the entire tournament.”
TV talk show host Jimmy Kimmel fueled the fire during a monologue in which he asked his millions of viewers, “Do you believe corruption was behind this match?”
Mehdi Hasan, the founder of media firm Zeteo, slammed FIFA’s “dark side” and corruption.
Despite the controversy, Egypt’s Prime Minister Madbouly praised the national team for their performance in the tournament.
“You’ve brought a wave of positivity to the Egyptian people,” he said on X.
