Argentina have succeeded in an attempt to ease the punishments handed out to players following their roles in a brawl after the World Cup final against Spain.

Three Argentina players and assistant coach Roberto Ayala were sanctioned last week by FIFA over their involvement in unsavoury post-match scenes after their 1-0 defeat in the final.

Leandro Paredes was hit with the biggest sanction, with the midfielder banned for 10 matches and given a £65,000 fine.

Paredes had grabbed Spain's Eric Garcia by the neck, before punching Gavi in the face and pushing him to the ground in appalling scenes at full time.

Nahuel Molina, another involved in the fracas, hit Spain captain Rodri in the torso as he ran past, prompting the midfielder to square up to his rival.

The incident saw Molina receive a seven-match ban.

Thiago Almada and Spain's Gavi were also given one-match bans for their involvement in the clashes.

Argentina have confirmed a request for friendly matches to count towards the suspensions, which could rapidly speed up the availability of their banned trio.

The Argentine Football Association also confirmed it is still planning to press ahead with appeals against the sanctions.

'The AFA has formally requested FIFA to allow the sanctions imposed on its players during the 2026 World Cup final, and on the association itself, to be served in Class A friendly matches and/or official matches, whichever comes first,' a statement read.

'Based on the AFA's submission, FIFA's Disciplinary Committee has deemed the request approved in accordance with current regulations.

'Nevertheless, the AFA, in defence of its rights and those of its players, is awaiting the written justification for the decisions in order to file the corresponding appeals with FIFA's Appeals Committee, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) potentially as the final recourse.'

The decision could lead to Argentina seeking to arrange several friendlies during the upcoming international breaks to ensure their banned trio can quickly return for competitive fixtures.

While Argentina are yet to confirm their upcoming fixture schedule, the South Americans had played four friendlies after winning the 2022 World Cup before playing their next competitive match.

Argentina are already assured of qualification for the next World Cup as one of the co-hosts, so their next competitive action could be the Copa America in 2028.

The decision could be crucial for Paredes, 32, who would have been facing a lengthy wait to play international football again for Argentina, but now potentially has a route back to feature again for the national team.

Argentina had escaped without major punishment last week despite calls to ban  stars who carried a banner claiming the Falkland Islands belong to their country following their World Cup semi-final victory over England.

The runners-up were let-off when it came to their Falklands protests with FIFA imposing only a two-match partial stadium closure, reducing the crowd size for Argentina's next two home matches to 50 per cent. However, one of those matches is suspended.

They were also hit with £235,000 in fines, £73,000 of which is suspended.

The banner, first displayed in the crowd before being handed down to the players after they beat England 2-1, read 'The Falkland Islands are Argentine' in Spanish.

Despite FIFA's ban on political flags, now-departed Tottenham captain Cristian Romero, Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez and ex-Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso celebrated with the controversial sign after the final whistle. Captain and star player Lionel Messi was also seen dancing alongside the banner.

A total of 255 British servicemen were among the 907 people who died in the 1982 Falklands war, which saw UK armed forces retake the islands after an Argentine invasion.

Britain first landed on the uninhabited islands in 1690 and claimed them for the Crown in 1765. It has maintained a permanent presence there since 1833-47 years before Argentina became a fully unified state following its declaration of independence from Spain in 1816.

The last official referendum of Falkland Islanders was held in 2013, when 99.8 per cent of voters chose to remain a British Overseas Territory.