World Cup final descends into violence at full-time whistle as Spain and Argentina players clash in ugly scenes

Published: 23:17, 19 July 2026 | Updated: 02:49, 20 July 2026 The World Cup final descended into outrageous scenes as fights broke out among the two sets of players.  Some of Argentina's players lost their heads as Spain's substitutes and staff ran on to the pitch to celebrate their 1-0 win against the South Americans. Ferran Torres scored a 106th-minute winner after Enzo Fernandez had been sent off in the 93rd minute for a desperately poor Argentina side.  After the whistle, Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes was sent off for punching Eric Garcia and pushing Gavi to the ground.  Argentina's Nahuel Molina also punched Rodri in the torso as he was running by, while Thiago Almada was involved, too.  Micah Richards said of their behaviour on the BBC: 'It's embarrassing. They were on the cusp every single time.  'Seeing that sort of stuff after the game was played, it's not good, it's embarrassing to be honest. Paredes is better than that. We all know what it's like to lose a game but this is not good enough.' Argentina's Leandro Paredes was sent off after the whistle for getting violent with Spain  Several stars clashed after Spain's 1-0 win over Argentina - but the South Americans started it Joe Hart added: 'Disgusting behaviour. There was one man on that pitch with class and that was Lionel Messi.' Wayne Rooney said: 'It doesn't surprise me. We've seen this from Argentina before. It's just sad, very poor from them.  'If you lose a game of football, be graceful. It's a reaction to them being outplayed. Enzo Fernandez has got what he deserves.'  Argentina were thuggish throughout the World Cup final, just as they had been against England in the semis.  Fernandez complained against his dismissal for a second yellow but his late foul on Pau Cubarsi, which sent the defender flying, was atrocious. Paredes was also fortunate to not be sent off in regular time for a foul on the edge of the box which presented Lamine Yamal with a last-breath free-kick before extra-time.  Argentina only had two shots in the entire match, and the first of those came in the 117th minute.  By contrast, they were trigger-happy on the fouls with 24 - though Spain didn't have clean hands themselves, as they gave away 21.  Paredes was blasted for getting violent at full time and trying to ruin Spain's celebrations  Alan Shearer said: 'There's a way to lose. Too many times we've seen that reaction from them. They were trying to win free-kicks and their reaction after full time was terrible. The best team won. It's a result for football because of the way Spain have played.'  Even Lionel Messi didn't rise above the dark arts. The legendary forward was lambasted by Wayne Rooney after he tried to get Marc Cucurella sent off during the latter stages of the game. The game descended into chaos when Fernandez received his second yellow card. This led to a melee between both sets of players and Cucurella was spotted saying something to Messi. The left-back then put a couple of fingers over his mouth and continued speaking, a move which the Argentine immediately reacted to and waved over the referee. As per FIFA's rules for this tournament, if a player holds their hand over their mouth in a confrontational situation, they will be sent off. This was seen with Miguel Almiron for Paraguay in the group stage and Piero Hincapie in the knockout stages for Ecuador. However, it didn't appear that Cucurella was speaking in a confrontational manner and the referee, nor VAR, decided to intervene. Spain have won the World Cup after Ferran Torres' extra-time winner against Argentina Torres smashed in the goal with his left foot after Williams headed the ball back across goal It was elation for the Spanish players as they celebrated wildly in the corner of the stadium But it was devastation for Argentina's crestfallen stars, who had fought for their lives There was no fairytale World Cup ending for Lionel Messi who struggled to assert his authority The BBC pundits were quick to hit out at Messi's behaviour as his team headed into extra time a man down. Hart said: 'Oh wow! Wow! Yeah, I didn't enjoy that at all from Lionel Messi. 'You realise how on top Spain are if even Lionel Messi is reverting to that.' Richards added: 'We don't want to see people getting sent off in a World Cup final for that.' Rooney was similarly furious with Messi's behaviour as he said: 'It is desperation. 'Argentina play like that, we know that's what they do. 'But the one thing you want is good sportsmanship and that was sad to see Lionel Messi doing that.' Your browser does not support iframes.