Argentina controversy cleared up as referee 'ignores' strict FIFA rule in Cape Verde World Cup win

The reason why the referee 'failed' to apply one of FIFA's new rules in Argentina's World Cup round of 32 clash with Cape Verde has emerged.

The world champions took on one of the smallest nations to play in a World Cup in Miami and played out a five-goal thriller which ended in Argentina's favour.

World Cup record goalscorer Lionel Messi opened the scoring with his 20th goal in the tournament but were left stunned Deroy Duarte levelled matters and ultimately forced extra time.

Lisandro Martinez put Argentina in the lead again with a fine near post finish before Sidny Lopes Cabral scored one of the goals of the tournament to make it 2-2.

Diney put through his own net from a Cristian Romero header to secure Argentina's passage into the round of 32.

The performance from referee Drew Fischer came under scrutiny and many viewers spotted the official refraining from enforcing one of the new rules for the World Cup.

Referees' chief Pierluigi Collina brought in a raft of new laws, including one which has resulted in two players receiving red cards for covering their mouth in a confrontational manner.

But there were was also a major focus on cracking down on time-wasting, with a five-second rule on goal kicks and throw ins.

In addition, it was decided that any player who receives medical treatment for an injury would be required to leave the pitch for one minute and could not return until the time was up.

However, this was not the case in one moment during Argentina vs Cape Verde.

Defender Nicolas Tagliafico required treatment on a bloody nose from a collision with Emiliano Martinez and also had to change his shirt.

This happened when Cape Verde had a corner and many felt they should have had an extra man advantage.

Yet late in the game, Cape Verde were instructed to take the set-piece until Tagliafico was back on the pitch to defend the corner.

ERA ESCANTEIO PRA CABO VERDE E O REGULAMENTO MANDA O JOGADOR ESPERAR 1 MINUTO FORA DEPOIS DO ATENDIMENTO

ROUBO DESCARADO https://t.co/yYrTlq1qzr pic.twitter.com/eEnZB7gRe0

— Zeca (@tmr6dlr) July 4, 2026

One clip which circulated online amassed a whopping 23 million views and appeared to show a Cape Verde player extremely confused as to why they had to wait for Tagliafico.

On X, one user fumed: "They simply DIDN'T follow the rule and let the guy come back onto the field so Argentina wouldn't be at a disadvantage in the corner kick."

A second said: "Argentina is the first team where the player goes out to receive treatment and the referee WAITS for him to finish to restart the game. The referee TORE the rule where the player has to stay out for 1 minute."

A third wrote: "This was straight robbery. The ref waited for an injured player to finish getting treated to come back for the corner."

A fourth stated: "Abysmal refereeing but no one will talk about it now."

Why referee didn't keep Argentina star off for one minute as rules explained

In the case of Tagliafico, it appears as though the rules were slightly different.

According to IFAB's Laws of the Game, "a player bleeding from a wound must immediately leave the pitch to receive treatment and will only be permitted to return once the referee is fully satisfied that the bleeding has stopped and all traces of blood are completely removed from their uniform or equipment".

Because the issue is bleeding, the one-minute rule is not valid and so the decision to wait for Tagliafico was technically correct.

However there was still the issue of a lack of time added on in stoppage time in the clash, which many complained about.