Furious Argentina fans launch petition to replay 'corrupt' Spain World Cup final

Thousands of angry Argentina fans are demanding that the World Cup final be replayed due to a "corrupt" referee.

Argentina were beaten 1-0 by Spain in extra time of the showpiece finale in New Jersey on Sunday. Ferran Torres' goal settled it for the dominant Spanish side, who bombarded the Argentina goal throughout the match.

Defending champions Argentina failed to muster a single shot on target over the 120 minutes and were down to 10 men following Enzo Fernandez's red card in the 93rd minute. Goalkeeper Emi Martinez was extremely busy before finally being beaten by Torres' effort in the 106th minute.

Argentina did not take the defeat well, with ugly scenes following the full-time whistle. Leandro Paredes was spotted kicking and punching as he shoved Eric Garcia to the ground and grappled with Gavi, while Nauel Molina appeared to have instigated the altercation by throwing a punch at Rodri.

Some fans of the team are similarly bitter, judging by the more than 82,000 signatures on a petition calling for the final to be replayed. The Change.org petition's author Gisela Sanchez argues that FIFA should scrub the result due to the performance of Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic.

“The recent final between Argentina and Spain was tarnished by the controversial and corrupt performance of the referee who, according to video evidence, was bought to influence the match’s outcome," Sanchez writes.

“It is a monumental disappointment for the players, coaches, and, above all, for the fans who crave to see a game decided by talent and dedication on the pitch, and not by rigged refereeing decisions.

“If we allow corruption to go unnoticed on this global stage, we are setting a bad example for future generations of athletes and fans.

“Therefore, we ask Fifa to review these incidents with seriousness and transparency, and to consider replaying the final – this time without the influence of a corrupt referee.”

Change.org is flooded with petitions of a very different nature - ones which call for FIFA to ban Argentina from future tournaments. One calling for the team to be banned from ALL future World Cups racked up over 29 million signatures before closing.

Vincic blew his whistle on 46 occasions for fouls, 25 of which were committed by Argentina players. Fernandez was sent off after picking up two yellow cards in the second half - one for dissent having not been awarded a free-kick and one for a reckless challenge on Pau Cubarsi.

The match was played in a stop-start nature due to Argentina's spoiling tactics, but Spain eventually found a way through in extra time. FIFA are investigating the behaviour of Argentina's players in the aftermath of the match, which was widely slammed.

"It's a disgrace," Gary Neville said on ITV. “I love the competitiveness of the Argentines, fighting and scrapping for their lives, Messi has propped them up, but it’s been a disgrace the last few games."