Argentina president launches bizarre rant after World Cup ban petition gets 23 million signatures

Argentina’s eccentric president Javier Milei has delivered a bizarre social media rant claiming other countries are “jealous” of the nation, after more than 23 million people signed a petition calling for the South Americans to be banned from future World Cups.

Last Sunday (July 19), Ferran Torres’ extra-time strike secured Spain’s second-ever World Cup triumph.

Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates settled for second place, having won the competition in Qatar in 2022.

Leandro Paredes did not take the defeat well and became involved in physical altercations with Spain’s Gavi and Eric Garcia, while his teammate Nahuel Molina appeared to throw a punch towards La Roja captain Rodri.

FIFA has since opened an investigation into the unsavoury post-match scenes.

Most of the Argentina team also turned their backs on Spain as they held the World Cup trophy aloft, drawing more criticism from fans.

And almost a week on, the drama continues, with a petition titled Argentina Out gaining over 23,316,108 signatures in under a week.

Fans from 170 nations worldwide signed the petition, calling for Argentina to be excluded from the World Cup to “give everyone a fair chance”.

Meanwhile, Argentinians have launched a counter-petition calling for the final to be replayed, accusing final referee Slavko Vinčić of corruption.

Part of the description reads: “The recent final between Argentina and Spain was marred by the controversial and corrupt conduct of the referee, who—according to video evidence—was bribed to influence the match's outcome.”

There is nothing to suggest FIFA or the referee was in any way bribed or corrupt.

And while Argentine Football Association president Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia has called for fans to accept Spain’s victory, the nation’s president, Milei, has delivered a bizarre rant via social media.

READ NEXT: Argentina release statement on World Cup final replay claims after petition goes viral

Right-wing leader Milei took to Instagram, suggesting other countries were envious of Argentina’s success.

“The problem with Argentina is that we stand out,” he wrote. “We don’t go unnoticed, people are jealous of us, and we’re good at almost everything. I’m sorry, but someone had to say it.”

In another post, which showed him wearing an AI-created Argentina shirt under a blazer, he continued: “Long live Argentina, damn it!”

"Do you have enemies? It means you once defended something. We defend Argentina," another read.

Spain head coach condemns Argentina behaviour

On July 24, Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente slammed Argentina’s behaviour after the World Cup final, telling Spanish broadcaster TVE: "At the time, I didn't realise it. I was celebrating, hugging team-mates.

"But in any case, it is intolerable, unacceptable, it cannot be allowed. Players of that stature, whom I praised in the days leading up to the match and continue to praise, who are great players with a tremendous coach, surely they must have felt just as bad as we did seeing those reactions.

"I want to highlight our behaviour in the face of that kind of aggression and provocation. Our players always kept their composure and behaved like true professionals."