The game is long over. And yet Argentina and France continue to quarrel even after the World Cup final. Better: the fans. Instead of on the lawn, there is now poking fun online. The French should finally stop their lamentation. A truly bizarre petition demands: "France, stop crying!". A gag, one might think, but one that makes waves. After all, hundreds of thousands have already signed the petition - and the number is growing.

It was dramatic what the teams performed on the pitch in the final match between Argentina and France at the 2022 World Cup. In the end, the Argentines won the title in the fight, it was also a showdown between the two superstars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, on penalties. But the matter was not eaten with that, because it is still mobbed and teased.

For example, the French "L'Équipe" criticized the Polish referee Szymon Marciniak. In focus: Messi's stoppage-time goal that gave Argentina a 3-2 lead. According to the paper, this goal was irregular. The referee, who was widely praised for his performance in the final, denied these allegations. Despite this, more than 200,000 French fans signed a petition calling for the final to be repeated because of the alleged mistake.

So now the return carriage. "Since we won the World Cup final, the French have been crying, whining and not accepting that Argentina are world champions," writes the initiator of the petition "France, stop crying". "The request is that the French stop crying and accept that Messi is the best in the history of football and has Mbappé as his son," said Argentina's Valentin Gomez. By Monday morning, more than 726,000 people had already signed the appeal on the Change.org petition platform. With a million signatures, this would become one of the most signed petitions out there.

The petition is just the latest prank by the Argentines against their opponents. Since the victory, both Argentine players and fans have repeatedly caused outrage with scandalous actions. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made the start. After he had already attracted negative attention because of an obscene gesture at the award ceremony in Qatar, he went a step further in Buenos Aires. At the parade, the keeper celebrated with a puppet depicting a crying Mbappé. But the fans celebrated even more tastelessly. A wooden coffin with a cross and a picture of France superstar Kylian Mbappé was also set on fire at the celebrations, literally fueling the scandal.

Source: Change.org, Twitter, with Dpa material