The brilliance of legend Lionel Messi helped lead Argentina to an anticipated World Cup semi-final against England in Atlanta on Wednesday. But the title holders' journey to the last four has been overshadowed by conspiracy theories circulating online that claim, without evidence, that they have been receiving help.
Social media is awash with video clips and AI-generated memes reinforcing this narrative — some showing FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Messi in an intimate embrace aboard the Titanic in the style of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, others simply superimposing Infantino's face at the centre of the "Sun of May" on the Argentine flag.
Newspapers in Algeria, Egypt and Switzerland have levelled accusations at VAR and its alleged favouritism towards Argentina, dubbing it "VAR-gentina" as a shorthand for its supposed perpetual tilt in favour of the tango nation.
From the controversial refereeing decisions, AFP reviews the most prominent incidents that have fuelled the conspiracy theories:
During Argentina's victory over Algeria in the group stage, with the title holders leading 1-0, captain Lionel Messi ran his boot along the right calf and Achilles tendon of Algeria captain Aissa Mandi in the 30th minute.
Polish referee Szymon Marciniak awarded Algeria a free kick, but Messi received no further punishment, before going on to complete a hat-trick.
However, a number of analysts insisted that Messi had committed an offence warranting dismissal and that, strictly according to the laws of the game, he should have been shown a red card, which would have led to a suspension.
ESPN analyst and former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha said: "In my opinion it should have been a red card."
He added: "Messi knew he had done something that could get him into trouble. Personally, I think it's a red card."
Former international Bundesliga referee Patrick Ittrich agreed, saying: "For me, that is a red card. We have many examples from the Bundesliga where such a challenge has been punished with a sending-off. According to the letter of the law, it is a red card. If I had seen it like that on the pitch, I would have shown red."
The Algerian Football Federation subsequently filed a formal complaint with FIFA over "refereeing injustice" in the match.
Argentina produced one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup history to stay in the tournament, overturning a 2-goal deficit to beat Egypt 3-2 in the round of 16.
But Egypt's players and coaching staff expressed anger at several decisions made by French referee François Letexier that went in Argentina's favour at critical moments.
The most prominent controversy after the match centred on a goal scored by the Egyptian side in the second half that was disallowed following the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), which detected a foul on an Argentine player several phases of play before Mustafa Zico scored at the other end of the pitch.
Analysts questioned whether VAR had overstepped its authority.
Former English international referee Mark Clattenburg said: "VAR was looking far too deep into something that happened in the game in order to rule out the Egyptian goal."
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan also argued that his side deserved a penalty in the build-up to Enzo Fernández's late winner for Argentina.
Hassan said: "It seems there was pressure on the referee from the Argentine side that led to this result."
He told beIN Sports: "Maybe they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition? Maybe they wanted Messi to stay in the race? In football, sometimes there are external factors that go beyond the technical aspects."
The head of FIFA's referees' committee, Italian Pierluigi Collina, responded by describing the Egyptian accusations as "unfounded."
A decisive VAR intervention also shaped Argentina's 3-1 extra-time victory over Switzerland in the quarter-final in Kansas City on Saturday.
In the 70th minute, referee João Pinheiro showed Argentine Leandro Paredes a yellow card for a foul on Breel Embolo, shortly after Switzerland had equalised at 1-1 and begun to assert their dominance.
However, a VAR review under FIFA's new "mistaken identity" rule concluded that it was Embolo who had initiated the incident by simulation, and the decision was overturned. Since Embolo already had a yellow card, he was shown a second and sent off, leaving Switzerland to play on with 10 men and halting their momentum. Argentina went on to win in extra time.
Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said after the match: "We were punished by a rule that, in my opinion, is completely unacceptable."
But many commentators noted that Embolo had been correctly punished for clear simulation.
Writer Nancy Armour of USA Today wrote: "If you want to say FIFA is manipulating the World Cup for the benefit of Lionel Messi and Argentina, and some of you are determined to do so, you need to make a better argument than this."
Amid the multiple accusations — most of which feed into the conspiracy theory that FIFA is favouring Messi and his Argentina teammates — the question remains: was the refereeing, and VAR in particular, genuinely backing Argentina and tilting the balance in their favour to reach the semi-finals?