World3 min(s) read
Published 12:39 21 Jul 2026 GMT
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world’s most famous soccer players, has publicly shown his support for a conspiracy theory that claims FIFA fixed the World Cup final.
On Instagram, the only player to have competed in six World Cups liked a video that accused the soccer governing body of corruption and suggested that Argentina had paid its way into the tournament final.
However, the 41-year-old is not the only one who claims to have spotted something fishy going on, as there is a huge amount of speculation online as to why the violent team has been allowed to get away with outrageous behaviour on and off the pitch.
Many people were appalled when the Argentina players were not penalised for holding an offensive and inflammatory sign referring to the British Overseas Territory - the Falkland Islands - after beating England in the semi-finals.
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Clearly, Ronaldo seems to agree with the populations of the other countries that competed that legendary soccer player, Lionel Messi’s team, were let off lightly by FIFA.
His suspicions were confirmed by fans who spotted that the Portuguese player had liked a video that accused the governing body of being 'one of the most corrupt institutions on planet earth.'
The accusatory comment was made by Espejo Publico journalist Pilar Rodriguez Losantos, who described FIFA as a 'mafia' and a 'shameful organisation'.
Alongside contributor Rubén Amón, the journalist suggested that the entire 2026 World Cup was rigged in favour of Argentina.
Losantos told Espejo Publico viewers before Sunday's final: "Argentina should have been eliminated at least five matches ago!
"They're still in the tournament thanks to FIFA's help! So I'm not afraid of Argentina at all. I'm more afraid of Infantino.
"I don't think we're going to be playing against Argentina, but against the whole of FIFA, who want to hand the World Cup to Lionel Messi."
However, following the Falklands fiasco, Messi hit back at claims that he or his teammates have benefited from bosses’ biases.
Inter Miami star said: "What this group has achieved is incredible - another final, we’ve come back to be world champions, we’re the best in the world after these four years, whether people like it or not, and no matter what they say.
"This proves that what we did wasn’t by chance and that nobody gave us anything. Reaching two World Cup finals is something few achieve, and this group did it.
"I know and we knew what we were capable of. People out there had doubts, but when this group comes together and is united, it finds what it doesn’t have to give its all."
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Published 10:34 21 Jul 2026 GMT
The 2026 FIFA World Cup came to a close on Sunday (July 19), with Spain emerging 1-0 victors over Lionel Messi and his Argentina side.
Ferran Torres was the hero, coming off the bench to lash home a 106th-minute extra-time half-volley past a helpless Emiliano Martinez.
It may have been Messi's last attempt at winning the biggest prize of them all as he approaches 40, but Argentina didn't do much to help him at the final hurdle.
Following a dramatic semi-final win over England, Argentina came into the final with one goal: to stop Spain at all costs.
And over the course of 90 minutes, they did, with several fouls and last-ditch tackles all over the pitch, culminating in a careless red card for Enzo Fernandez at the end of normal time.
Some players were dirtier than others, and one of the main culprits was Argentinian midfielder Leandro Paredes.
In fact, the former PSG man may be under investigation by FIFA for his conduct in the final.
FIFA is reportedly investigating the "violent conduct" from Leandro Paredes after it was shown on broadcast that he was shown a straight red card after allegedly grabbing the throat of Spain's Eric Garcia.
Paredes and teammates Nahuel Molina, Thiago Almada, and assistant coach Roberto Ayala all appeared to be involved in the scuffle.
But according to the BBC, Paredes was never shown a red card by referee Slavko Vincic and was instead incorrectly reported on FIFA's commentator information system.
It would be deleted shortly afterwards, as FIFA confirmed that no disciplinary action will be taken despite his actions.
Argentina is already undergoing an investigation after raising a banner about the Falklands following their last-gasp victory over England.
Parades, 32, has since taken to social media, speaking about his World Cup journey and his pride of being part of the "best" Argentinian team in history.
He posted several images from his time at this year's World Cup, including one of him passing the trophy with his silver medal.
While many may remember Paredes' main contribution to the tournament as the fight with Spain after the final whistle, he swerved the topic completely in his post.
He penned: “THANK YOU ARGENTINA !!! I LOVE YOU TODAY AND ALWAYS,
“Today it's time to write with a lot of pain in the soul for not having been able to give them that joy that our country so deserves, but with the chest full of pride for giving everything we had and leaving our flag again on the highest!
“Thanks to everyone who was part of this selection, to this group of players who gave their lives to represent this shirt as it did until the last second of each game!
“It was an honor to be part of the best Argentinian national team in history!!”
Footage after the full-time whistle showed Paredes lunging towards his Spanish counterparts, putting his hands on both Garcia and his teammate Gavi.
The latter could be seen being thrown to the ground by the Boca Juniors midfielder.
A FIFA statement read: “Following an assessment of the relevant match reports for the FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, and in line with article 36 of the FIFA disciplinary code (FDC), the FIFA disciplinary committee has appointed a disciplinary and ethics prosecutor to investigate potential breaches of the FDC with regard to the post-match incidents,
“Further details will be communicated by the FIFA disciplinary committee once the prosecutor’s report has been completed.”
Published 15:50 19 Dec 2022 GMT
It seems Sunday's World Cup final - which was viewed by over 3.75 billion people - even lit up the living room of Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, as Prince William may well have sat on the edge of his seat to watch the nail-biting win from Argentina like the rest of us.
The 120-minute football extravaganza between Argentina and France resulted in a final score of 3 - 3, forcing the teams to battle it out in a penalty shoot-out which saw Messi's Argentina take home the coveted World Cup trophy (which is made from pure 18-carat gold and worth $20 million). The drama-filled competition has been deemed the "best World Cup ever" by multiple outlets, including New York Magazine and CNN.
The Prince of Wales, 40, must have agreed after he wrote on his wife Kate Middleton's official Twitter account: "What. A. Final. Congratulations to Argentina and to Messi [sic]," accompanied by a goat emoji which stands for the acronym G.O.A.T - meaning "greatest of all time."
"Commiserations to France - both teams played brilliantly. W," he added.
However, the innocent tweet sparked outrage on social media after netizens came forward to question the heir to the throne on why he's chosen to remain silent on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix series, but chose to post about the World Cup instead.
The six-episode docuseries revealed several explosive accusations against the Royal Family, including that the then-Prince Charles' office had allegedly leaked details of 38-year-old Harry and 41-year-old Meghan's plans to relocate to South Africa and then to Canada. The father-of-two had even claimed that his older brother had screamed at him about their exit from royal life during a meeting with their father and the late Queen Elizabeth II.
So far, the palace has also declined to comment on the allegations, as well as further claims from Harry that William's office leaked negative stories about him and Meghan to the press. According to The Mirror, the Royal Family is choosing to "maintain a dignified silence" to avoid a public row with the California-based couple.
This continued silence, however, has frustrated netizens. One person simply commented: "Seriously? This is your response?"
"Your failure to condemn signals you are ok with the hate and vitriol against your own brother and [sister-in-law]…..shame on you," someone else added, referencing the hateful article written about Meghan by Jeremy Clarkson for The Sun.
A third user chimed in, also referencing The Sun column: "Clarkson's column should be officially condemned. I have no plans to read Spare or watch Netflix, but I condemn the hate in Clarkson's column. Please consider doing so, too."
"So William was quick to defend the family after the Oprah interview by saying they weren't racist. So he can speak. But he has never defended Meghan by denouncing the racism that was in the media. And is silent on the violence now printed. I see," another person tweeted.
So far, Buckingham Palace has not commented on the accusations - though it is expected that a statement may come out following the release of Prince Harry's upcoming memoir Spare, which is set to hit bookstores on January 10.
Published 15:08 17 Jun 2021 GMT
Cristiano Ronaldo was left surprised at the Euro 2020 tournament after being asked to show his ID by a security guard.
The Portugal captain, 36, is widely regarded as one of the world's greatest footballers, which is why footage of the incident quickly went viral when it was tweeted by Balls.ie.
It was captioned: "Fair play to the Hungarian security staff for double-checking that Cristiano Ronaldo had permission to attend today's game."
Reacting to the footage, one Twitter user wrote: "Hungarian security checking Cristiano Ronaldo's ID with all the energy of a nightclub bouncer."
Meanwhile, a second Twitter user simply wrote: "Powertrip."
Per Independent, Ronaldo went on to have huge success in the match and scored two goals which brought him ahead of Michel Platini as the leading goal scorer in the championship.
Ronaldo this week hit headlines after kickstarting a movement by removing the Coke bottles in front of him at a press conference.
Ahead of his first game, the Portugal captain sat in front of the media, only to realize that there were Coca-Cola bottles in front of him, which prompted him to shout "Agua!", which is Portuguese for water.
Watch the moment Ronaldo swaps Coke for water below:However, his disdain for the drink was something he previously made clear when discussing the possibility that his son could follow in his sporting footsteps.
Per Metro, he said at the Global Soccer Awards ceremony: "We'll see if my son will become a great footballer. Sometimes he drinks Coca-cola and eats crisps and it irritates me, he knows that.
"Sometimes I tell my son to take a dip in cold water to recover after a run on the treadmill and he says, 'Dad, it's so cold there'. That's fine, he is only 10 years old."
Ronaldo's decision to remove the Coca-Cola bottles went on to inspire Paul Pogba, a devout Muslim, to remove a Heineken beer bottle away from him as he discussed France's victorious game over Germany.
Now, soccer player Manuel Locatelli has also joined in on the removal of Coca-Cola bottles at his press conference table on Thursday, June 17.
Published 17:07 19 Dec 2022 GMT
After a night of sheer bliss for Argentina and their fans across the globe, it seems some netizens couldn't help but complain about something. This time, Salt Bae was the target.
For those who missed it, Argentina beat France in a tense 120-minute game that ended in a score of 3 - 3, before the two teams battled it out in penalty shootouts that saw La Albiceleste (as they are affectionately known) take home the coveted World Cup trophy in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after a 4-2 victory.
The award itself is made from 18-carat gold and is worth a staggering $20 million, according to FIFA. Naturally, only a select group of people are permitted to touch the trophy - including winners of the World Cup and heads of state, per FIFA's website.
So, it comes as no surprise that Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe - better known as Salt Bae - received mixed reactions when he took to Instagram to post several short clips and images of himself holding the golden trophy and biting players' gold medals to his 49.8 million followers.
One of the clips - which saw the chef standing next to Argentinian player Di Maria and saying his catchphrase "Wow" - received close to 15,000 comments from users, and many of them were not happy. "He can't touch on the cup. Only world champions can do that. No respect," one person wrote.
"You can tell Di Maria wants nothing to do with this picture, embarrassing that he's used this moment to use his c**p catchphrase," another person added.
Another user chimed in with: "The disrespect, this guy is just full of himself."
'This guy will never deserve to touch the world cup..just touch salt you shameless [sic]," another comment read.
"This salt guy is becoming unbelievably annoying and obnoxious," a further user added.
Other Instagram users drew attention to a separate viral video that showed the chef desperately trying to get Messi's attention, with one person writing underneath a photo of the pair: "Bruh keep the distance, he was celebrating w his peeps not some random from tiktok [sic]."
Was Salt Bae wrong to touch the World Cup? Let us know in the comments below.
Published 15:43 14 Jul 2026 GMT
A seemingly awkward exchange between a couple during the 2026 World Cup has gone viral, with millions of viewers convinced they've worked out what sparked the tense moment.
The incident unfolded during South Africa's World Cup clash with South Korea in Monterrey, Mexico, after television cameras focused on three supporters dressed in South African colors and enthusiastically waving flags in the stands.
At first, the trio appeared to be enjoying the match, but the mood quickly changed when the man in the group pulled out his phone.
One of the women, believed by many online to be his partner, looked over at the screen before appearing visibly upset.
It remains unclear whether she was frustrated that he was using his phone during the game or whether she saw something on the display that caught her attention.
The pair appeared to exchange words, prompting the man to put his phone away.
Moments later, however, he seemed to become irritated himself as the conversation continued.
The woman eventually sat down, seemingly attempting to end the discussion, but the man continued talking.
At one point, he leaned down toward her and said something that left her frowning and staring straight ahead.
Almost immediately afterwards, the atmosphere shifted again as the man began dancing in his seat while eating a snack, even offering some to the other woman sitting beside him.
The clip quickly exploded across social media, with viewers drawing comparisons to last year's infamous Coldplay "kiss cam" scandal and inventing countless theories about what had happened.
Many users urged the woman to end the relationship altogether.
"How can I file a divorce for someone else?" one person joked on X.
Another wrote: "I could feel her heart sink into her stomach, because I'm also a woman."
Others believed the phone itself held the answer.
"'WhatsApp message k*lled the vibe,'" one viewer speculated, before adding: "Mistress saw him on TV and was like 'I see you baby.'"
Not everyone believed another woman was involved.
Some suggested the man may simply have been placing bets on the match using his phone.
Meanwhile, other viewers focused on the group dynamic, arguing the couple may not actually have been together at all.
Some claimed the man and the woman involved in the disagreement looked more like siblings, while others suggested he was instead dating the woman he later shared his snack with.
The television cameraman also became part of the online conversation, with many questioning why the trio remained on screen for so long.
"The cameraman is nosey af," one viewer commented.
Another joked: "Imagine you are overseas and you are stuck in this situation."
A third added: "Must be the same Coldplay cameraman."
The incident inevitably drew comparisons to the viral Coldplay concert controversy in July 2025 involving former Astronomer executives Kristin Cabot and Andy Byron.
The pair made headlines after appearing together on the venue's "kiss cam" before quickly trying to hide from the cameras to conceal their affair.
