​Rewriting my seven wildest World Cup conspiracy theories, ranging from claims that FIFA helped Lionel Messi to a mysterious Ronaldo “99 final” moment and more, originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me.
Nothing stirs the conspiratorial juices quite like the high-stakes drama of elite sport. Why does it always seem to be your team that suffers the worst calls? Combine soccer’s open, subjective rule set with the intense passions of national pride and the undercurrents of geopolitics, and the FIFA World Cup becomes a veritable playground for conspiracy theorists. It’s never been more pronounced than in 2026, a era when the internet seems to have scrambled so many brains that a tin foil hat feels like a perfectly fitting accessory. This is the tournament where a head of state from a host nation reportedly participated in a successful lobbying effort to the FIFA president to have a ban on his team’s star striker suspended. That happened. He claimed it did. And it’s not going to keep fans from spiraling into theories about every other perceived offense against their squads.
Conspiracy theories and the World Cup have long been inseparable. For nearly a century now, they’ve waxed and waned, fueling debates and sapping patience from fans who believe they’ve seen behind the curtain. 2026 World Cup HQ: Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Buy World Cup tickets. Lionel Messi, Argentina. Imagn. Let’s cut to the chase. After Egypt fell to reigning champions Argentina 3-2, despite leading 2-0 with 12 minutes to go, Pharaohs coach Hossam Hassan erupted: “It’s all about money. They want Messi to stay in the tournament. In football, many things happen off the pitch because of interests. What happened was unfair. Egypt deserved to qualify. We were the better team.”
Setting aside the immediate retort—“take care of your business and don’t concede three goals in a sudden rush”—let’s examine some of Hassan’s grievances. The foul on Lisandro Martínez that ruled out Egypt’s original second goal after a VAR review occurred deep in Egypt’s half. Yet it was a rapid counterattack, with two passes between the infringement and Ziko’s scored goal. Had Marwan Attia not fouled Martínez, that goal might not have happened. Then there’s Mohamed Salah’s penalty appeal just before Enzo Fernández’s winner. In essence, don’t be ridiculous. Salah was challenged by Julián Álvarez, lost control of the ball, and tripped over the Argentina forward while trying to regain possession. Play on.
The broader context here is the swaggering boast from Donald Trump about assisting Balogun’s eligibility to play for the United States against Belgium, in the wake of his harsh red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina. If FIFA president Gianni Infantino is open to saving face for a better SEO narrative, then so be it.