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World Cup Final Referee Defends Lionel Messi Following Backlash

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Slavko Vincic, the referee who took charge of the 2026 World Cup final, has cast his verdict on Argentina captain Lionel Messi’s behaviour during the game against Spain.

While Messi wasn’t involved in the heated post-match altercations that marred the final and prompted a FIFA investigation, the 39-year-old has still received heavy criticism for an incident involving Spain full-back Marc Cucurella.

Messi wanted action taken against Cucurella after the defender, who recently completed a move from Chelsea to Real Madrid, briefly put his hand to his mouth during an interaction with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Cucurella didn’t appear to be speaking to Messi in an aggressive manner, but Argentina’s No. 10 signalled to referee Vincic that an offence had been committed.

Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron and Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie were both shown straight red cards during the World Cup after FIFA implemented a new rule ahead of the tournament to prevent players from insulting opponents while covering their mouths.

No action was taken against Cucurella, despite Messi’s accusations, and the legendary forward has subsequently been blasted for his ‘shameless’ behaviour.

Spain fans have even created petitions calling for Messi to be stripped of the prestigious Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, which he won shortly before the 2026 World Cup got underway.

Slavko Vincic Speaks Out About Messi’s Behaviour

Argentina's Lionel Messi remonstrates with referee Slavko Vincic REUTERS/Lee Smith

Vincic, who announced his retirement one week after the World Cup final, has now spoken out about Messi’s conduct during the final.

The former Slovenian match official disagrees with suggestions that Messi showed unsportsmanlike behaviour during the final.

“That conversation will stay on the pitch,” Vincic told reporters, per The Metro.

“But I can confirm that Messi was extremely sportsmanlike.”

Per beIN Sports, Vincic emphasised that Messi showed exemplary conduct on the field at all times, respecting his decisions, helping the game flow and displaying self-control even in high-pressure situations.

He added that Messi behaved like a positive leader without excessive protests.

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On the final itself, Vincic said: “The burden is great when your entire refereeing career is poured into one match, but I knew that most of the work would be in managing the match… to stop at the right moment or let the action continue.

“The biggest challenge was dealing with the emotions of the football players. This is the World Cup final, the mindsets and reactions are different, but given the importance of the match, we have to understand all of that. The biggest challenge, of course, is somehow managing everything during the match.

“We are trying to study the characteristics of the players, what they do during the break, who commits the most fouls. Of course, it is not possible to prepare completely.

“The match has its own course and within that you try to do your job as well as possible. Within that, you have to decide whether to start with warnings or cards. But it is a kind of automatism that comes from experience during your career. Sometimes you succeed better, sometimes not.

“After the final whistle, we were not too much of a problem, which indicates that we generally did an okay job, so I think the refereeing strategy was right.”

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Carlos Alcaraz Debuts Unrecognisable New Look Ahead of US Open

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Carlos Alcaraz has faced scrutiny from tennis fans, after his new Instagram post debuted a peculiar new haircut for the two-time Wimbledon champion.

The Spaniard has been out of action since sustaining a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open back in April, which has caused the world number three to miss out on some of tennis’ most prestigious tournaments, such as Wimbledon, which was won by Jannik Sinner, and the French Open, with that being taken home by German Alexander Zverev.

Alcaraz has still been busy even with the injury, as his most recent Instagram dump showed him hanging out with Spanish World Cup hero Ferran Torres, after the former Manchester City’s winger’s 106th-minute strike confirmed the Spaniards’ second World Cup and the current US Open champion was there to watch it unfold.

Photos also showed the seven-time major champion rehabbing, as he is expected to return to the court at the Cincinnati Masters 100 before defending his US Open title in New York later this month, with tough competition expected from Sinner and Zverev.

But it looks like Alcaraz will be bringing something new to the tournament, and it involves a haircut, as the Spaniard has picked an interesting style, to say the least, going into his defence.

Carlos Alcaraz’s New Look

Carlos Alcaraz

The Spanish tennis star usually opts for simple haircuts, with the furthest he has gone in recent times being a buzz cut which he bleached on his way to victory at the Japan Open.

But this time round, Alcaraz will opt for Cornrows going into August, as the youngest Grand Slam winner of all time showed off his look to his adoring fans, who looked on in shock as to see the 23-year-old with this new choice of style.

Many fans were quick to comment on this ambitious look, with multiple fans taking to X to voice their opinion on the topic.

One fan wrote, “GRIM. Sorry that he can’t play tennis. But this hairstyle is detracting from it,” another wrote, “Wait, is that actually Carlos?! Completely unrecognisable! Didn’t see this arc coming at all.”

Another fan looked to have switched sides by announcing that they had “Just joined team Sinner!”, while another fan was looking to convince Alcaraz to go back to the hairstyle he had during the Japan Open: “Carlitos, baby nooo. Just buzz cut platinum blonde again.”

The Spaniard will be hoping this new hair do will help him, as he looks to win his third US Open in the space of five years. One fan even thought it could, with them joking on X: “I like it! Hope it helps him aerodynamically, LOL!”

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6 Argentina Players Could Be Banned For 2030 World Cup After FIFA Statement

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Six Argentina players could be banned for the 2030 World Cup following a statement made by FIFA, according to reports.

Argentina’s players caused controversy with their behaviour on the pitch during this summer’s tournament. After their victory over England in the semi-final, Argentina’s players held up a political banner which read ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’, which translates to ‘The Falklands are Argentine.’

In the final, some of Argentina’s players completely lost their heads after their extra-time defeat to Spain. Full-back Nahuel Molina struck Rodri as he ran past him during the celebrations, while Lenadro Paredes grabbed the throat of Spain defender Eric Garcia and then sent Gavi to the ground.

FIFA Open Disciplinary Proceedings Against Argentina

Argentina's Leandro Paredes clashes with Spain's Gavi next to assistant coach Walter Samuel Reuters/James Lang

FIFA have now opened disciplinary proceedings against the Argentinian Football Association. Their statement read: “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has opened proceedings against the Argentinian Football Association for potential breaches of article 13 paragraph 2 c) (Using a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature), article 14 paragraph 5 (Team misconduct), article 15 (Discrimination and racist abuse) and article 17 (Order and security at matches) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code in light of discriminatory chants and gestures, late kick-offs, failure to comply with match and security protocols, the display of inappropriate messages by the team and spectators and the throwing of objects by spectators in relation to several matches of the representative team of Argentina at the FIFA World Cup 2026.“

They have also opened disciplinary proceedings against three Argentina players: Molina, Paredes and Thiago Almada.

The statement continued: “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has received the report of the appointed Disciplinary and Ethics Prosecutor concerning incidents that occurred during the FIFA World Cup 2026 final (Spain v. Argentina) and, following the recommendation contained therein, has opened disciplinary proceedings – for potential breaches of article 14 paragraph 1 i) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (assault) – against Argentinian players Nahuel Molina (two counts, one completed and one attempted) and Leandro Paredes (three counts) and Argentinian official Roberto Ayala (one count).

“Disciplinary proceedings have also been opened – for potential breaches of article 14 paragraph 1 b) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (unsporting behaviour) – against Argentinian players Nahuel Molina (one count) and Thiago Almada (one count) and Spanish player Pablo Martín Páez Gavira (one count).”

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Six Argentina Players at Risk of 2030 World Cup Ban

Argentina after defeat to Spain at World Cup final REUTERS/Mike Segar

The Sun have now reported that six Argentina players could be banned for the 2030 World Cup.

They write that FIFA have the power to issue a ban to the Argentina players who were involved in the Falklands banner and the violence after the final.

Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez and Giovani Lo Celso were all seen holding the Falklands banner and could be punished. While Molina, Paredes and Almada are in hot water following their actions in the final.

Argentina’s next FIFA match will come at the 2030 World Cup. La Albiceleste will host one match at the tournament in honour of the 100th anniversary of the first edition in 1930.

Because they are co-hosting, they will not have to go through qualifying. So, if suspensions are handed out, the next available match for players to be banned could be Argentina’s opening match of the 2030 World Cup.

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Ilia Topuria’s Face 7 Weeks After Justin Gaethje Fight at UFC Freedom 250

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Fans of Ilia Topuria have been left in shock after seeing the recovery of his face several weeks after his first professional loss to Justin Gaethje.

The Georgian fighter was defeated by The Highlight after he was stopped in his corner just after round four with his face looking worse for wear in the main event of UFC Freedom 250, held at the White House, which saw United States President Donald Trump sit cageside to watch all the action.

On the night, Ciryl Gane defeated Alex Pereira in the co-main event, Sean O’Malley knocked out Aiemann Zahabi, and Josh Hokit beat Derrick Lewis by TKO.

It was understood that Topuria had suffered multiple facial injuries during the fight, with doctors revealing that he had fractured two orbital bones and broke his nose after his brutal match-up with the former BMF winner, who demolished El Matador’s face on his way to championship glory.

Ilia Topuria’s Face Seven Weeks After UFC Freedom 250

Ilia Topuria injured eye Credit: Zuffa LLC

Now, it looks as if Topuria has made a swift recovery, with the former featherweight champion not looking back as he has reportedly been vacationing in Alicante and Ibiza, as photos from the trip have been released.

In the photo, Topuria can be seen smiling with his barber Luis Bless, who shared the photo on his Instagram page, with many fans left impressed with the healing process that the 17-1 fighter has been through.

Fans were quick to take to social media to praise Topuria for this quick recovery, with El Matador’s fans excited to see him in the Octagon once again.

One user on X wrote, “Oh yeah HE LOOKS GREAT! When we getting a comeback match bruh?” while another wrote, “The rematch with Justin Gaethje will be legendary,” as fans look forward to a potential second clash between the two UFC lightweight giants.

Another fan compared El Matador to a famous Marvel superhero by jokingly stating, “Damn, Ilia got those Captain America healing powers, looking good champ!”

Many fans, however, expected Topuria to have made such a recovery in time, with one fan on X commenting, “It’s been over a month since he last fought. I’d hope he’d be healed up by now,” while another commented, “Why is everyone obsessing with his eyes? Yeah, he got beat up. He’s also 29 years old. He will heal quickly. He didn’t tear an ACL or Achilles.”

One thing is for sure that Topuria is vying to get back into the Octagon, with the lightweight division stacked with talent, including champion Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan, Paddy Pimblett, Charles Oliveira, and Max Holloway.

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