Hoax – A photo shows Messi committing a serious foul on Spence during a goal-scoring play for Argentina against England.
Analysis
The atmosphere of major football tournaments is often intensified by historic rivalries and heated debates over on-pitch refereeing. Following Argentina’s 2-1 victory over England in the World Cup, posts have resurfaced on social media alleging referee bias in favor of the Argentine team.
One of the most widely shared posts features a photograph allegedly showing Lionel Messi stepping on Englishman Djed Spence’s foot during the play leading up to one of the Argentine goals. The authors of the post claim that the VAR ignored the foul and that the official broadcast failed to replay the footage.
Additionally, some posts also claim that the VAR lines were not released to analyze a potential offside in Argentina’s first goal. Read two versions of the message circulating on social media:
Version 1: Messi clearly fouled Spence in Argentina’s second goal against England, literally a stamp by Messi on Spence. Why didn’t VAR intervene? Why does there always have to be something stolen in favor of Argentina? Version 2: Has VAR been corrupted when Argentina plays?? P.S. No [footage] was shown again on the TV broadcast and there are no lines for Messi on the first goal.
Fact Check
To clarify the facts behind this sporting controversy, our team verified the images and official match records. In light of this, we will answer the following questions: 1) Does the photo show Messi fouling Spence in Argentina’s goal-scoring play against England? 2) Was there any irregularity by Messi in any of Argentina’s goals against England? 3) Are there other fake news stories about “rigging” in favor of the Argentines in the World Cup?
Does the photo show Messi fouling Spence in Argentina’s goal-scoring play against England?
No, the image circulating on social media is not an authentic record of the match. A reverse image search revealed that the original photo was captured by professional photographers and is hosted on the Getty Images database. Analyzing the original record on Getty Images, which shows the challenge for the ball between the Argentine star and English player Djed Spence, makes it clear that the alleged stamp simply did not happen.
The version that went viral on the internet underwent a digital editing process using artificial intelligence tools. The manipulators altered the positioning of the players’ feet in the static image to simulate a foul contact that never occurred in reality, misleading social media users.
Was there any irregularity by Messi in any of Argentina’s goals against England?
None. The entire build-up of the play was carried out in full compliance with the rules of professional football. The analysis of the video footage completely refutes the narrative of an assault or stamp. In detailed breakdowns published by refereeing analysts online, such as the Sou do Apito profile on X, it can be observed from different moving angles that the challenge was clean and Lionel Messi committed no infraction.
In addition to the foul accusation, the theory of an irregularity in the first goal due to an alleged offside was also debunked. Technical footage from the exact moment of the pass shows the legal positioning of the players. The check on the tactical perspective of the play, shared by sports coverage portals like Elo Tucumana on X, proves that the virtual offside lines confirmed the absolute legality of the play.
Are there other fake news stories about “rigging” in favor of the Argentines in the World Cup?
Yes. Since the beginning of the tournament, several posts have attributed alleged favoritism to the Argentine national team, usually employing edited images, misinterpretations of plays, or completely fabricated information.
Among recent examples of misinformation along the same lines, our fact-checking platform has already debunked an absurd story claiming that the World Cup had been canceled and Argentina banned due to an FBI investigation. In another similar case of a manufactured narrative, a false rumor circulated claiming that the referee of the match between Argentina and Egypt had been fined 2 million euros and banned from the tournament.
Conclusion
It is false that the viral photograph shows Lionel Messi fouling Djed Spence before one of Argentina’s goals against England. The image was digitally manipulated from a real Getty Images photograph. Furthermore, a review of the match footage indicates no foul by Messi nor any offside in the Argentine goals. This is yet another piece of fake news created to support the narrative of favoritism toward Argentina during the World Cup.
Fake news ❌
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