An online movement calling for Argentina’s expulsion from the World Cup is rapidly gathering widespread momentum.
Hosted on the website argentinaout.com, the digital appeal has already accumulated over 5.4 million signatures.
“It is obvious that FIFA and the referees are biased toward Lionel Messi and Argentina,” the petition reads. “Why should the rest of the world compete when the winner has already been decided? Kick Argentina out of the World Cup and give everyone else a fair chance.”
Prior to this, internet users alleged that FIFA was pulling out all the stops to guarantee a tournament victory for the South American side. To support their claims, they highlighted Messi escaping a red card during their group stage fixture against Algeria and what they viewed as a highly favorable path through the knockout rounds.
Thus far, the defending champions narrowly escaped Cape Verde with a 3-2 extra-time win in the Round of 32, pulled off a stunning 3-2 comeback against Egypt in the Round of 16 after trailing 2-0 as late as the 79th minute, and outlasted Switzerland 3-1 in extra time during the quarter-finals. Next up, Argentina is scheduled to clash with England in the semi-finals on July 15.
