African Football Discussion Thread Current Topic: 👉 FIFA WorldCup 2026.

[chinhar]

I hope the world is also seeing what is really going on and also taking records as well because when AFCON tournament was ongoing, they made a jest of it citing the irregularities and differences between teams, officials and conflicting judgement and till this moment it is still ongoing yet the world cup tournament was a shadow of itself and FIFA at the forefront of it all making a big mess of it and showing the world their flops and lapses. The events that occurred this FIFA world cup tournament justifies the action's of FIFA towards the recently concluded AFCON tournament.

Let's be honest without self for once, didn't we see the shameless thing Afcon did after Senegal won the last title? They went to court for a title that was won but wanted to turn it down. A decision thag was done in the peach was not enough, they have to walk through the back door before they can agree on who is the winner of the title and we expect the world to take us seriously, we want international recruitment recognition but we don't want to act like one.

Until we learn to keep our difference, respect the league, respect judgement which need to be transparent, that's when the world will take us serious. You can't always get your ways if you don't respect your home. There is nothing in Copa America, Euro and other international leagues that Afcon does not represent. It's our own differences that don't rate it, it's the same players we have here that are representing other leagues elsewhere.

Yes, the Afcon is rife with irregularities, corruption, if you will, and I don't know what else. However, as we're also seeing at the World Cup, irregularities and injustices seem to be a daily occurrence at the moment. However, the Afcon's internal mismanagement doesn't make them credible to the rest of the world, and for this reason, they can't even expect much. And this will create even worse consequences in the future, forcing talented players to move to Europe.

[OsaiEmma]

~snip

I think almost everyone will agree with you about some preferential treatment going to the Moroccans most especially the issue of towel that they were getting away from throughout the tournament. But two truths can still exist, that game wasn’t well officiated but Senegal made a mistake of walking out because we have seen such kind of bad officiating even in this ongoing World Cup and players do not dare to walk out. Senegal were lucky they had experience in Mane who ask them to come back if not they will be punished more.

But personally I think CAF actually complicated the situation by taking that decision of stripping Senegal off the title because only the referee has that lower and he completed that game, had the referee failed to complete that game then we could be talking about awarding the trophy through court but this situation brought more disgrace to the tournament

This issue will go on and on forever if we really want to talk about it. Senegal violated a rule, but it can be debated; Morocco are still the champions but it is not concluded since Senegal said they'll make an appeal.

In the appeal, If they go with "it wasn't a forfeit but just a short break to regroup", then they just might win because if it were really a forfeit, the referee would've made the first call on it there on the pitch, so since he didn't then there is a chance to argue there was no forfeiting of the match from them.

But if not, then I'm afraid I don't see any argument or appeal to overrule the decision of CAF in crowning Morocco as the AFCON champions.

[Mayor of ogba]

Honestly that's really sad to see, but you know Trump sometimes can be a very hard man. He himself had to intervene so as to have the red card's punishment overruled. I know FIFA should've stood their ground and do what is right, but I guess they couldn't resist such big figure's pressure.

Although the player paid a fine and was placed on a one year probation period. If within this one year he receives another red card, he'll serve this match ban and that red card's penalty as well.

But even at that, I think Infantino made the wrong call for giving into Trump's pressure.

The reason why Donald J. Trump pushed for Balogon's red card to be cancelled was because he believed some players committed similar fouls of that of Balogon's and they weren't given a red card. And as we all know players like Messi and Mazraoui committed a foul in their first match in this World Cup that the referee should have shown them a red card but they escaped a red card. There's nothing FIFA could do to resist Trump's request because they gave room for that. In the next World Cup, FIFA should play by the rules and they should be fair enough to give all the teams and players equal treatment so that this kind of thing won't repeat in a World Cup tournament.

[Sunshine1525]

Honestly that's really sad to see, but you know Trump sometimes can be a very hard man. He himself had to intervene so as to have the red card's punishment overruled. I know FIFA should've stood their ground and do what is right, but I guess they couldn't resist such big figure's pressure.

Although the player paid a fine and was placed on a one year probation period. If within this one year he receives another red card, he'll serve this match ban and that red card's penalty as well.

But even at that, I think Infantino made the wrong call for giving into Trump's pressure.

The reason why Donald J. Trump pushed for Balogon's red card to be cancelled was because he believed some players committed similar fouls of that of Balogon's and they weren't given a red card. And as we all know players like Messi and Mazraoui committed a foul in their first match in this World Cup that the referee should have shown them a red card but they escaped a red card. There's nothing FIFA could do to resist Trump's request because they gave room for that. In the next World Cup, FIFA should play by the rules and they should be fair enough to give all the teams and players equal treatment so that this kind of thing won't repeat in a World Cup tournament.

As much as I didn't like Trump meddling in the game cause if every president who's country got a red card call FIFA president over rule the red card, it's going to ruin the game but I blame FIFA cause they caused it, their unfairness gave Trump a reason to take that action, it was uncalled for but I like that "Karma was a bitch" and fucked with USA, they got thrashed by Belgium even with Balogun's presence.

The unfairness of FIFA has caused lots of controversy in this tournament and made lots of fans believe that they're favouring Argentina to win. I don't know why Messi wasn't penalised for that his poor tackle on an Algerian player, Argentina would had won still and all these conspiracy of FIFA favouring them won't be trending if Messi was booked with a yellow card atleast.

[Oluwa-btc]

Thank you, brotherly.

I see many people support Argentina because of Leonel Messi, and that's cool. I don't hate the GOAT, but I would not support Argentina. A country that has a high record of disrespect for the black race doesn't deserve my support.

Argentina fans accused of violence, racism by Egypt, Cape Verde supporters
French federation files complaint over ‘racist’ song by Argentina players
FIFA condemns fan’s racist attack on IShowSpeed at Argentina World Cup match

It is the same for me here.

I have so much love for Lisandro Martinez but I do not support him in the FIFA World Cup Competition nor do I support his nation. I'm a proud hater and I say it with my full chest. Just as my brother would say that, this football is most interesting when you watch it with a bit of hate and love. It has been a great tournament all round. Thanks to everyone celebrating.

[Roseline492]

Thank you, brotherly.

I see many people support Argentina because of Leonel Messi, and that's cool. I don't hate the GOAT, but I would not support Argentina. A country that has a high record of disrespect for the black race doesn't deserve my support.

Argentina fans accused of violence, racism by Egypt, Cape Verde supporters
French federation files complaint over ‘racist’ song by Argentina players
FIFA condemns fan’s racist attack on IShowSpeed at Argentina World Cup match

I have loved Argentina even if there is no black color among them but because of were they always get to in the world but however I may possibly not going to be supporting them because what I don't like is when someone is hating another person because of color when they cannot even unravel the mystery behind it. Lionel Messi is like a water that has no enemy that's why he will never be a racist as his country, meanwhile i didn't no there was an alteration of racism by argument fans on those two African countries they meet in round of 32 and 16, actually I don't no what people are gaining from that when they're not even responsible for the person.

[Agbe]

I have so much love for Lisandro Martinez but I do not support him in the FIFA World Cup Competition nor do I support his nation. I'm a proud hater and I say it with my full chest. Just as my brother would say that, this football is most interesting when you watch it with a bit of hate and love. It has been a great tournament all round. Thanks to everyone celebrating.

That is too harshly in the public domain, even though you are in that magnitude, you can moderate the statement and use another unoffensive words to replace it so it would nice for the eyes of others. Like as for, I don't hate any team but I will support Spain because Argentina has won and let another country also experience the trophy happiness. And that is all my argument from the beginning.

[POPOLUV]

I do not think Fiatless is making football a thing of race here, because before someone will support a football team the person must have a reason to do that,  like to like the style of play of the football team or like the players in the football team. Fiatless has a reason why he supported France after all African countries were knocked out, which was France being the country with the most African players. People has the right to support any country or team they want to support, and it is not in your place to advise anyone on how to choose the country to support in this world cup.

Thank you, brotherly.

I see many people support Argentina because of Leonel Messi, and that's cool. I don't hate the GOAT, but I would not support Argentina. A country that has a high record of disrespect for the black race doesn't deserve my support.

Argentina fans accused of violence, racism by Egypt, Cape Verde supporters
French federation files complaint over ‘racist’ song by Argentina players
FIFA condemns fan’s racist attack on IShowSpeed at Argentina World Cup match

From the start of this FIFA world cup tournament Argentina team wasn't among my favorite teams, so for me i don't see any reasons of supporting Argentina team in any ways, even when the politice in this FIFA world cup tournament hasn't be noticeable this much, so my happiness is that, among all my favorite teams Spain happen to be the only team remaining in this FIFA world cup tournament, i believe Sunday is the deal day for the FIFA world cup tournament final 2026, i can't wait to see Spain team doing what they know best in dominating the match and lefting the trophy of the FIFA world cup tournament 2026.

[Rruchi man]

I see many people support Argentina because of Leonel Messi, and that's cool. I don't hate the GOAT, but I would not support Argentina. A country that has a high record of disrespect for the black race doesn't deserve my support.

Argentina fans accused of violence, racism by Egypt, Cape Verde supporters
French federation files complaint over ‘racist’ song by Argentina players
FIFA condemns fan’s racist attack on IShowSpeed at Argentina World Cup match

I was going to make a post about it but you beat me to it. I’m curious to know why Nigerians are supporting Argentina knowing fully well their proud history of racism. Enzo Fernandes was one of the Argentine players singing a racist chant in the last Copa America, yet we cheer for him when he scores. Why? I know people living in Nigeria that have never left the continent do not fully understand racism because they have never experienced it in person, racism is ugly and shouldn’t be tolerated at any level. I don’t car

I see many people support Argentina because of Leonel Messi, and that's cool. I don't hate the GOAT, but I would not support Argentina. A country that has a high record of disrespect for the black race doesn't deserve my support.

Argentina fans accused of violence, racism by Egypt, Cape Verde supporters
French federation files complaint over ‘racist’ song by Argentina players
FIFA condemns fan’s racist attack on IShowSpeed at Argentina World Cup match

I was going to make a post about it but you beat me to it. I’m curious to know why Nigerians are supporting Argentina knowing fully well their proud history of racism. Enzo Fernandes was one of the Argentine players singing a racist chant in the last Copa America, yet we cheer for him when he scores. Why? I know people living in Nigeria that have never left the continent do not fully understand racism because they have never experienced it in person, racism is ugly and shouldn’t be tolerated at any level. I don’t care if Messi is your GOAT or not.

Now I finally understand why I have never been a fan of Argentina all my life, a nation that believe they're the only humans, always in one racist act or the order.

e if Messi is your GOAT or not.

Now I finally understand why I have never been a fan of Argentina all my life, a nation that believe they're the only humans, always in one racist act or the order.

Are you not a hypocrite, hiding behind racism for not liking a whole country when it is very possible that not every Argentine has the same opinion as what you think.

Usually your posts are more calm and respectful, I understand that football excites people and brings out their emotions especially the Ronaldo & Messi fans.

There is no disrespect in that sentence; I asked a question. "are you not a hypocrite?" is different from "You are a hypocrite."

Do not turn a blind eye to the truth because you like a player.

Two truths can exist, and it is not about just liking a player; it is the amount of agenda that has gone on every time Argentina has won a game, never when they are losing.

Do not turn a blind eye to the truth because you like a player. Even after the game, one of the players allegedly said a racist slur that Jude Bellingham heard, and that caused a fight. You may be right, not everyone in the team may be racist but they were silent and did nothing to stop the others from singing racist chants.

Go back and read the post I replied to well; he was referring to the whole country, not just the team.

It is not nice to have a general opinion of a group of people based on the behavior of a few.

[Obim34]

It is the same for me here.

I have so much love for Lisandro Martinez but I do not support him in the FIFA World Cup Competition nor do I support his nation. I'm a proud hater and I say it with my full chest. Just as my brother would say that, this football is most interesting when you watch it with a bit of hate and love. It has been a great tournament all round. Thanks to everyone celebrating.

Anybody supporting Argentina is doing so because of Messi, applicable to myself as well. I'm supporting Argentina to win the World Cup, I know they have racists and so do other countries, even the blacks are becoming xenophobic to their own skin tone, so what's the difference and why would i stop supporting Argentina team, I'm enjoying football without supporting their racist action.

FIFA should severely punish any form of racism, football is supposed to unite not condemn.

[snipie]

Anybody supporting Argentina is doing so because of Messi, applicable to myself as well. I'm supporting Argentina to win the World Cup, I know they have racists and so do other countries, even the blacks are becoming xenophobic to their own skin tone, so what's the difference and why would i stop supporting Argentina team, I'm enjoying football without supporting their racist action.

FIFA should severely punish any form of racism, football is supposed to unite not condemn.

Some people in South America have expressed some weird attitudes towards some races including black people for no reason. I suppose you all heard about Kylian Mbappe incident with the female senator I think from Paraguay. She attacked him largely with harsh words that even the French Football Federation filed a complaint against her.
In the case of Argentinian fans, they are known of weird attitudes and were fined few times for whether sending political messages against European nations, mainly UK because of the disputed islands or against black people especially when they are playing with European teams.

[Ronsbit]

It is the same for me here.

I have so much love for Lisandro Martinez but I do not support him in the FIFA World Cup Competition nor do I support his nation. I'm a proud hater and I say it with my full chest. Just as my brother would say that, this football is most interesting when you watch it with a bit of hate and love. It has been a great tournament all round. Thanks to everyone celebrating.

Anybody supporting Argentina is doing so because of Messi, applicable to myself as well. I'm supporting Argentina to win the World Cup, I know they have racists and so do other countries, even the blacks are becoming xenophobic to their own skin tone, so what's the difference and why would i stop supporting Argentina team, I'm enjoying football without supporting their racist action.

FIFA should severely punish any form of racism, football is supposed to unite not condemn.

Yes football is a unifying sports and should serve as an emblem of unity to everyone who cares. There have been lots of suspicion since the beginning of this tournament pointing towards FIFA and some team which Argentina is currently the talk of the town and how they were favoured by referee and all of that. However, nobody is above mistake and that's what I see on the path of the officials as some made some errors while officiating and some were good to go. Those who committed blunder  while officiating could not detect their lapses while officiating but I believe they could have seen it now and be regretting what they had done except otherwise.

[Doan9269]

I still can't understand if people are just jealous of Argentina because they don't want them to take it this time around for the feel genuinely been intimidated by the flawless victory they have been achieved in ever since the start of this world cup, anyone can have a reason to argue about the judgment being preceded by the governing authorities or even the referees that are in this world cup match, the question is what if it was other country that make it to this stage, will there be continuous attack in this manner.

[Swordsoffreedom]

I have loved Argentina even if there is no black color among them but because of were they always get to in the world but however I may possibly not going to be supporting them because what I don't like is when someone is hating another person because of color when they cannot even unravel the mystery behind it. Lionel Messi is like a water that has no enemy that's why he will never be a racist as his country, meanwhile i didn't no there was an alteration of racism by argument fans on those two African countries they meet in round of 32 and 16, actually I don't no what people are gaining from that when they're not even responsible for the person.

I have not seen such rude players in the Argentina squad. Even their manager Scaloni is a very polite person. Also, we all know about Messi. There  is no one in the Argentina squad who will be racist. But on the other hand, it is also true that the argentina fans are quite fierce in this world cup. We did not see  anything like this in the last world cup. The fans should also be more calm. It is not  right to get involved in conflicts over such  issues. I will never support hurting  other people's feelings.

[Wakate]

I do not think Fiatless is making football a thing of race here, because before someone will support a football team the person must have a reason to do that,  like to like the style of play of the football team or like the players in the football team. Fiatless has a reason why he supported France after all African countries were knocked out, which was France being the country with the most African players. People has the right to support any country or team they want to support, and it is not in your place to advise anyone on how to choose the country to support in this world cup.

Thank you, brotherly.

I see many people support Argentina because of Leonel Messi, and that's cool. I don't hate the GOAT, but I would not support Argentina. A country that has a high record of disrespect for the black race doesn't deserve my support.

Argentina fans accused of violence, racism by Egypt, Cape Verde supporters
French federation files complaint over ‘racist’ song by Argentina players
FIFA condemns fan’s racist attack on IShowSpeed at Argentina World Cup match

I see this complaints and excuses as bullshit! When Egypt was complaining about the racism they experienced from Argentina, no one cares but now it has happened to England and we started seeing petitions and complaints about their racist songs and verbal expressions. This is late and there is no need for anyone to complain about it because Argentina is already in the final stage of the 2026 world cup tournament.

[allthebitandbobs]

I also like Argentina's gameplay very much. The team is performing really well. They have a polite manager like Scaloni. At the same  time, Messi is also very polite, we know this football. It can be said  that there are no such fierce players in the argentina squad. But it is true that argentina's fans are quite fierce. I have seen  several such news. We do not expect  such racism or violence at all. Fans should  be more tolerant and give enough respect to the opposing fans.

Soccer is always a way of many big conflicts and feuds. History is full of things, especially in South American regions. Just because of this, talking about Argentinian fans is not right because they have a culture like this; even killings are easy just because of soccer performance.

FIFA needs to have some strict policies about this because violence will hurt the beauty of this game, which already has enough political involvement and other problems that are making the game more political instead of 11 players. Donald Trump's red card issue brings up enough about the worst management of FIFA and its power.

[Akbarkoe]

I still can't understand if people are just jealous of Argentina because they don't want them to take it this time around for the feel genuinely been intimidated by the flawless victory they have been achieved in ever since the start of this world cup, anyone can have a reason to argue about the judgment being preceded by the governing authorities or even the referees that are in this world cup match, the question is what if it was other country that make it to this stage, will there be continuous attack in this manner.

Everything has a cause and effect you have to judge that too, it is impossible to do such things without a spark starting, of course this is not the fault of the player but from a lot of talk out there there are many things that are still questions, unconfirmed issues and other issues that arise.

You should not be surprised all this will definitely happen the same thing if done by other national teams, we must speak fairly about what we see on the field, the slightest mistake in speech and behavior will be used as a weapon by anyone who does not like it.

[Fiatless]

I see this complaints and excuses as bullshit! When Egypt was complaining about the racism they experienced from Argentina, no one cares but now it has happened to England and we started seeing petitions and complaints about their racist songs and verbal expressions. This is late and there is no need for anyone to complain about it because Argentina is already in the final stage of the 2026 world cup tournament.

Can you point to or highlight one sentence in my post that shows that I am complaining? I only outlined the reason why I am not a supporter of La Albiceleste. If you follow the links I provided, they are not related to the English team. Maybe my personal views and convictions have offended some supporters of Argentina; I apologize, but the problem is that I am a diehard anti-racist.

Go back and read the post I replied to well; he was referring to the whole country, not just the team.

It is not nice to have a general opinion of a group of people based on the behavior of a few.

When racism is institutionalized, it reflects on all aspects of a country. I suggest you read about how Argentina systematically erased Black and Indigenous populations. But as I said, I respect everyone's position to support Argentina. I also apologize for mixing sports with politics. Maybe it's because of the pain I feel when blacks are portrayed as an inferior race.

[Yorubek]

I still can't understand if people are just jealous of Argentina because they don't want them to take it this time around for the feel genuinely been intimidated by the flawless victory they have been achieved in ever since the start of this world cup, anyone can have a reason to argue about the judgment being preceded by the governing authorities or even the referees that are in this world cup match, the question is what if it was other country that make it to this stage, will there be continuous attack in this manner.

Nobody wants their favorite team to lose, fans naturally want their favorite team to win the title. This is very common in football. The same mentality is seen in the case of fans of Argentina, Spain, England, France or any other big team. On the other hand, a section of neutral spectators questions the refereeing, VAR decisions or controversial moments. If they think that a team is repeatedly getting an advantage, then criticism of that team increases, be it Argentina or any other team. However, the biggest proof of whether a team is really strong or not is its performance on the field. If a team consistently wins matches and reaches the final, then they must have played well. However, at the same time, spectators also have the right to question the refereeing as long as that criticism is based on specific events, not just on the identity of the team.

[Spaceman1000$]

I hope the world is also seeing what is really going on and also taking records as well because when AFCON tournament was ongoing, they made a jest of it citing the irregularities and differences between teams, officials and conflicting judgement and till this moment it is still ongoing yet the world cup tournament was a shadow of itself and FIFA at the forefront of it all making a big mess of it and showing the world their flops and lapses. The events that occurred this FIFA world cup tournament justifies the action's of FIFA towards the recently concluded AFCON tournament.

Let's be honest without self for once, didn't we see the shameless thing Afcon did after Senegal won the last title? They went to court for a title that was won but wanted to turn it down. A decision thag was done in the peach was not enough, they have to walk through the back door before they can agree on who is the winner of the title and we expect the world to take us seriously, we want international recruitment recognition but we don't want to act like one.

Until we learn to keep our difference, respect the league, respect judgement which need to be transparent, that's when the world will take us serious. You can't always get your ways if you don't respect your home. There is nothing in Copa America, Euro and other international leagues that Afcon does not represent. It's our own differences that don't rate it, it's the same players we have here that are representing other leagues elsewhere.

Yes, the Afcon is rife with irregularities, corruption, if you will, and I don't know what else. However, as we're also seeing at the World Cup, irregularities and injustices seem to be a daily occurrence at the moment. However, the Afcon's internal mismanagement doesn't make them credible to the rest of the world, and for this reason, they can't even expect much. And this will create even worse consequences in the future, forcing talented players to move to Europe.

My problem is that, the AFCON has it's problem, the African administrators don't even hide their biasness, because this issue between Senegal and Morocco has really brought out the leg of AFCON administrators. My major concern is the fact that this behavioral pattern we have in Africa is gradually rubbing us off our international placement, in current on going World cup, I don't think an African referee even participated, Yet Africa is one country that produces talented footballers every year, we came to the World cup with nine countries. All this tells you that there is a way the world sees Africa.