Post-World Cup insults fly between Spaniards and Argentinians: ‘It’s idolatry,’ priest says

The priest said “the human heart is made to worship” and warned that if it “does not worship God, it will worship something else: success, the body, money, or a soccer team.”

In response to the insults exchanged on social media between Argentinian and Spanish fans following the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, a priest questioned the amount of rage, warning that those behaving this way have “lost their bearings” and that “the way they’re acting isn’t about soccer; it’s idolatry.”

In a thread posted on X, Father Francisco Javier Bronchalo, a Spanish priest from the Diocese of Getafe, lamented having read “too many insults on social media between Argentinians and Spaniards” in recent days.

“Someone posts something with the best of intentions, and people come down on them as if they had hit their mother,” he noted.

The Spanish national team defeated Argentina 1-0 on Sunday, July 19, with a goal by Ferrán Torres and became world champion for the second time, following the title won in 2010.

In his reflection, Bronchalo noted that “the human heart is made to worship” and warned that if it “does not worship God, it will worship something else: success, the body, money, or a soccer team.”

This idolatry, he continued, replaces “liturgical chant with the team anthem, the worshipping assembly with the cheering section, and salvation with winning a title,” ultimately becoming “a religion without God.”

The Spanish priest said “the insults and excesses seen in recent days” demonstrate that “people defend with violence and mockery something that, deep down, is devoid of both truth and meaning.”

“The Gospel says that the mouth speaks from what overflows from the heart. Today, we would say: The fingers write from what overflows from the heart,” he remarked.

However, Bronchalo clarified that “[soccer] is not the problem,” as the sport can bring about “healthy joy” and promote values ​​such as effort, perseverance, loyalty, and teamwork.

“But a means treated as an end becomes a tyrant. Soccer as an ultimate end turns into the opposite: a source of anger, anxiety, and emptiness,” he warned.

“The question is not whether you are passionate about soccer. The question is what place it holds in your heart. If it is a means, it draws you closer to heaven. If it is an end, it traps you on earth,” he said.

Bishop Munilla: Don’t turn soccer into ‘a religion’

The Spanish priest’s reflection echoed the warning issued before the World Cup final by the bishop of Orihuela-Alicante in Spain, José Ignacio Munilla, who highlighted that soccer has values ​​worth recognizing but noted that “it is one thing to enjoy the sport, and quite another to turn it into a religion.”

The prelate further noted that “an inability to accept defeat is a sign of immaturity” but “those who need to humiliate others don’t know how to win, either.”

“True sportsmanship lies in discovering that one’s rival is not an enemy but someone who makes the game possible,” he stated.

‘Rivals for a day. Brothers forever’

Amid verbal clashes on social media, Catholic priests from Argentina and Spain shared messages of goodwill and congratulations.

Argentinian priest Father Tomás Agustín Beroch wrote on X: “Congratulations to Spain. They were far superior and won decisively. Long live Spain — our Motherland that evangelized us — and congratulations on this cup. It is well-deserved.”

“As I’ve been saying throughout this World Cup, we must win heaven, and Christ must reign in our hearts above all else. A big hug to my Spanish friends and to all the people of that great nation,” he said.

Hours before the final, Father Francisco Delgado of the Archdiocese of Toledo in Spain posted an image of two soccer players — one Spanish and the other Argentinian — walking across the playing field with their arms around each other. Above them, the words read: “Rivals for a day. Brothers forever.”

Argentinian priest Father Javier Olivera Ravasi congratulated Spain on the championship on X, stating: “They deserve it. They were better.”

He then posted a photo of his backpack featuring the flags of Argentina and Spain, which he has carried “for years” declaring “Long live Christ the King! Long live Catholic Spain and Catholic Argentina!”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.