Published July 21st, 2026 - 06:33 GMT
ALBAWABA - Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo recently sparked debate when he reportedly liked an Instagram post accusing FIFA of corruption, claiming that the football organization and its president, Gianni Infantino, helped Argentina reach the 2026 World Cup final. News of Ronaldo's online activity quickly flooded social media, as the Portuguese footballer didn't publicly comment about his controversial opinion. Aside from Ronaldo's opinion on the matter, Argentina's national football team has come under fire countless times, with football fans also accusing FIFA of favoritism towards Messi, as conspiracy theories flooded social media.Ronaldo liking the post reignited a decades-long rivalry between him and Argentina's Lionel Messi.🇵🇹🇦🇷 Cristiano Ronaldo liked a video accusing FIFA of straight up corruption to help Argentina reach the World Cup final. Targeting Infantino and the whole setup for Messi. The rivalry never sleeps. CR7 throwing shade from the sidelines.Writer: Sol…— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 21, 2026 A social media user wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "That’s why he’s the GOAT, he’s the only one with balls to stand up to corruption and he’s been exposing FIFA for years. Why are people act like they’re shocked? He did it before the Argentina scandal." Another added, "Whole world saw the corruption with their own eyes. Well done Ronaldo. Respect towards Ronaldo grew even more after this WC." Accusations of FIFA's favoritism towards Argentina escalated after the national team's 3-2 victory against Egypt in the World Cup's round of 16. Egypt was leading 2-0 before Argentina made a dramatic comeback, scoring 3 goals in the second half. The refereeing in the game raised eyebrows among viewers due to the questionable VAR decisions, including harshly disallowing a goal and denying a penalty for Egypt. Egypt's coach Hossam Hassan also accused the French referee François Letexier of favoring Argentina, further stating that the match was "rigged."Hassan said, "Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the race." Moreover, Mostafa Ziko, whose goal was disallowed, also said in an after-match interview, "The referee was unfair and destroyed the efforts of an entire nation. The trophy is being handed to Argentina."Since then, football fans have jokingly dubbed Argentina "VARgentina."
