Argentina set to go to Cas after Fifa rejects appeals

Leandro Paredes (centre), Nahuel Molina and Thiago Almada all appeared to be involved in a fracas on the pitch after Spain won their World Cup final [Getty Images]The Argentina Football Association says it is planning to apply to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over Fifa rejecting its appeals against punishments handed out to the organisation and midfielder Leandro Paredes.Paredes was given a 10-match ban for his role in on-field clashes following Argentina's 1-0 defeat by Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.Team-mate Nahuel Molina was given a seven-game ban, with both players being fined $90,000 (£66,000), and while the AFA said Molina's suspension had been reduced to four games by Fifa, the sanctions on Paredes stood.The AFA was fined $321,000 (£235,000) for breaches of the Fifa disciplinary code related to using a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature, team misconduct, and discriminatory chants and gestures by its supporters.After beating England 2-1 in the World Cup semi-final, several Argentina players held up a banner claiming Argentine sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory.A statement from the AFA said that, as Fifa had upheld the punishments, its next step would be to ask for the reasons for the decisions by world football's governing body before taking the issue to Cas.Following the Word Cup final in July, Argentina players Paredes, Molina and Thiago Almada plus assistant coach Roberto Ayala all appeared to be involved in a fracas on the pitch as Spain celebrated their win.Paredes seemed to push Spain's Eric Garcia by the throat and unused substitute Gavi tried to intervene but was forced to the ground by Almada.Fifa later appointed a disciplinary and ethics prosecutor to assess what happened before issuing its sanctions. Argentina's Paredes banned for 10 gamesFifa opens investigation into Argentina post-final troubleFollow your club with BBC SportListen to the latest Football Daily podcastGet football news sent straight to your phone