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Rabat – FIFA announced on Friday that its Disciplinary Committee has launched investigations against a number of football associations for their potential breaching of FIFA regulations during the Qatar World Cup, including Argentina’s national team, winners of the 2022 World Cup.
Argentina’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez won the World Cup’s Golden Glove award for his iconic saves at the tournament. But after Martinez collected his award at the podium, he made a gesture with his trophy that was described by many to be vulgar and inappropriate.
The goalkeeper’s gesture caught viewers of the historic Qatar World Cup final by surprise. Some found Martinez’s way of celebration hilarious, while others deemed it disrespectful and inappropriate.
Martinez’s unusual way of celebrating made international headlines and was trending on social media for several days after the World Cup ended.
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“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has opened proceedings against the Argentinian Football Association due to potential breaches of article 11 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code,” which entails offensive behavior and violations of the principles of fair play, FIFA said in a statement.
In addition, the Argentinian team is under investigation for potentially breaching article 12 of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code on the misconduct of players and officials.
FIFA has also opened an investigation into Argentina’s possible breaching of article 44 of the Qatar World Cup regulations, “in conjunction with the Media and Marketing Regulations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” added the statement.
Meanwhile, FIFA has sanctioned Ecuador’s Football Federation with a fine of $21,566 for breaching article 13 of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code on Discrimination, after Ecuadorian supporters performed discriminatory chants during their national team’s opening game against Qatar.
The Mexican Football Association was sanctioned with a fine of $107,833 for breaching the same article, as Mexican supporters performed discriminatory chants during the Mexican team’s games against Poland and Saudi Arabia.
In addition, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee ordered Serbia’s Football Federation to pay a fine of $53,916 for breaching articles 13 and 12 during Serbia’s game against Switzerland.
The statement concluded that FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee has also opened an investigation against Croatia’s Football Association for potentially breaching articles 13 (Discrimination) and 16 (Order and security at matches) during the Croatia-Morocco game.
