Yearly Selection Position Compatriot! Argentine Journalist Stripped of Ballon d’Or Voting Rights Due to Biased Voting

According to the organizers of the Ballon d’Or, Argentine veteran journalist Enrique Wolf lost his voting rights for the 2023 Ballon d’Or due to biased voting in favor of his compatriots.

Every year, the magazine France Football holds a ceremony in Paris to award the world’s best footballer. This award is decided by professional sports journalists from the top 100 countries or regions ranked by FIFA (the top 50 for women’s awards). Each journalist must select their top ten players from a list of 30 candidates and rank them in order of preference.

The Ballon d’Or is meant to reward the best-performing player over the past year, not based on personal preferences. Vincent Garcia, the organizer of the Ballon d’Or, told The Times: “They vote according to their own preferences; some may favor forwards or midfielders, or stars from a particular club, but the key is to remain objective, which not everyone can do.”

When asked about why Wolf’s voting rights were revoked, Garcia explained: “Last year, the Argentine voter selected four compatriots—Messi, Lautaro Martinez, Alvarez, and Emiliano Martinez—in his top five, resulting in the loss of his voting rights. There were four Argentine players on the shortlist, and he selected all of them. I believe he lost his objectivity. We have replaced the journalist, and he no longer votes.”

The only non-Argentine player Wolf selected was Mbappé. In October 2023, Messi won the Ballon d’Or, breaking the monopoly held by Real Madrid or Barcelona players since 2008.

Regarding claims that the Ballon d’Or favors La Liga and that Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez can influence the award, Garcia laughed it off: “If there really was a ‘Pérez effect,’ it would mean he exerts influence over me. But in reality, I haven’t spoken to him yet.”