According to FIFA, its disciplinary committee has imposed a fine on the Argentina Football Association for breaching its World Cup regulations regarding the required presence of players in pre-match press conferences. The world soccer body said that head coaches of teams are required to bring at least one player at news conferences for the media and fans to follow their preparations ahead of an upcoming match.
"Disciplinary proceedings were opened after Argentina turned up to three consecutive Match Day -1 press conferences in the stadium (ARG v. NIG, ARG v. SUI, ARG v. BEL), with only the head coach present instead of the required head coach plus at least one player. The same incident occurred at the Match Day -1 press conference prior to the semi-final ARG v. NED. After analysing all necessary elements, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee found the Argentina FA guilty of breaching art. 4 par. 1 lit. f and 4. par. 2 of the Regulations 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil as well as art. 12.2 2nd part (i) of the competition's Media & Marketing Regulations," FIFA said.
The news conferences in question were those done prior to Argentina's matches against Nigeria, Switzerland and Belgium, the Wall Street Journal reported. Argentina, which is set to play against Germany on Sunday for the championship title in the World Cup fina, purportedly failed to bring a player to its news conference before its semifinal match against the Netherlands, FIFA stated.
As such, the governing soccer body has fined the football association 300,000 Swiss francs ($336,210). WSJ noted that the amount was roughly similar to how much Barcelona player Lionel Messi earns in his professional football club in two days. The Argentinian star was estimated by Forbes to have a total of $64.7 million in annual earnings.
The newspaper said the Argentina FA has yet to comment on the fine.
