Netanyahu Publicly Supports Argentina in World Cup, Sparking Anti-Israel Conspiracy Theories in Arab World

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly expressed his support for Argentina to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup, citing his admiration for Argentine President Javier Milei rather than team captain Lionel Messi. Netanyahu praised Milei as a "superstar" for adopting free-market economic policies and highlighted Milei's strong friendship with Israel during a podcast conversation with Ben Ben-Baruch.

This statement coincided roughly with Argentina's controversial 3-2 victory over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16, a match that sparked widespread anger and conspiracy theories in the Arab world. Following Egypt's dramatic loss after leading 2-0, many Egyptian social media users and commentators accused Israel of influencing the outcome, alleging a secret alliance involving Netanyahu, Milei, former Israeli politician Gideon Sa'ar, FIFA, and Messi. These claims, however, lack any factual basis.

One prominent Egyptian commentator, Mohamed Nour, claimed that Egypt was not only playing against Argentina but also against FIFA and Israel, alleging restrictions such as banning the Palestinian flag during the match. Nour further asserted that Argentina's team was effectively "Israel's team," referencing Milei's ties to Netanyahu and Messi's past visits to Israel. He also falsely claimed that Yair Netanyahu facilitated Messi's move to the MLS club Inter Miami, a claim with no evidence.

The conspiracy theories quickly escalated on social media, with viral posts and videos mixing images of Netanyahu, Milei, Messi, and Sa'ar to suggest behind-the-scenes manipulation of the World Cup results. One video showed Sa'ar telling Milei to bring Argentina a fourth World Cup trophy, with Netanyahu responding "Okay," which was framed as proof of collusion. In reality, no credible evidence supports any Israeli involvement in the refereeing decisions or Argentina's progress in the tournament.

The episode highlights how sports-related frustrations can rapidly morph into anti-Israel and antisemitic conspiracy theories online, fueled by political tensions and misinformation. Despite the baseless nature of these claims, they have gained traction in some Arab media and social networks following Egypt's elimination from the World Cup.