​For three weeks, it appeared that Gianni Infantino had pulled it off.All of the pre-tournament naysaying—about the format, the climate, the ticketing, and the visas—had faded. Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappe brought their A-games. Cape Verde’s Vozinha was a sensation. Broadcast ratings were stellar. The hosts all proved competent. Maybe those empty seats actually did belong to fans on the concourses.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThen Andrew Giuilani appealed to FIFA’s disciplinary committee, Folarin Balogun was reprieved of his red-card suspension, and the vibes shifted. The USMNT were no longer a likable team that had proved surprisingly good at soccer; they were a conduit for corruption. Belgium’s thrashing of the U.S. in the round of 16 meant that there was no prospect of Belgium contesting the result of the game and throwing the tournament into a sporting crisis. Add to that a flurry of officiating decisions—particularly around Argentina—that have sent coaches, players, and fans into a frenzy.It has all combined to flare a reputational crisis for Infantino and FIFA—one that is still spreading rapidly.Immediately after the Balogun affair, the mood of the tournament changed. FIFA’s willingness to make exceptions to some rules for some people has created space for suspicion, paranoia, and distrust—and not just from fans, but also from players and coaches.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEgyptian forward Mostafa Ziko suggested the World Cup is “directed towards Argentina,” while his coach, Hossam Hassan, said that his opponents “benefited from support at every level,” following Egypt’s round-of-16 defeat in which two debatable refereeing decisions went against his side. The Swiss manager, Murat Yakin, claimed his team “weren’t just playing against Argentina, but 70,000 fans, the referee, and VAR as well.”The online discourse has become more frenzied by the game. A fan-produced compilation video purporting to show refereeing decisions favoring Argentina over Switzerland in their quarterfinal has morphed into a bizarre cat-and-mouse affair. Fans post the video on social media, FIFA orders it to be taken down on copyright-infringement grounds, which fuels fans’ ire that the governing body is hiding something more profound.Suddenly, conspiracy theories are everywhere. What did Infantino mean when he said he “suffered” with world champions Argentina in their match against the minnows of Cape Verde? Why did the Paraguayan president of CONMEBOL sit impassively when Paraguay scored against Turkey, but celebrate wildly when Argentina completed its comeback against Egypt?Most of the conspiracy theories and officiating complaints have been directed at Argentina, which fans have decided is FIFA’s favorite, perhaps because of the presence of Lionel Messi. Not all of it, though.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNorway’s coach, Stale Solbakken, believed his team had been the victi