Paredes hit with 10-game World Cup ban after final scuffle with Spain
FIFA handed Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes a 10-match suspension for grabbing Spain’s Eric Garcia by the throat and pushing Gavi after losing the World Cup final to Spain, one of the harshest sanctions in World Cup history alongside Luis Suárez’s 2014 ban. Nahuel Molina received seven games and Thiago Almada one; fines were $90,000 for Paredes and Molina and $30,000 for Almada. The 10-match ban effectively sidelines Paredes from the national team for about a year. Spain’s Gavi was banned for one game, and Argentina coach Roberto Ayala received a three-game ban with a $30,000 fine. Argentina’s federation was fined $110,000 and ordered to spend $100,000 on antiracism programs; FIFA prize money was $34 million. The federation can appeal to FIFA and CAS.}
