The British government on Thursday urged FIFA to investigate Argentina‘s team after players celebrating their 2-1 win over England in the World Cup semifinals posed with a banner that claimed sovereignty over the contested Falkland Islands.
During post-match celebrations Wednesday in Atlanta, Argentine players held a banner handed over by fans, reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” — “The Malvinas are Argentine.”
Argentina refers to the Falkland Islands as Islas Malvinas. They were invaded in 1982 under orders from Argentina’s then-military dictatorship, triggering a 10-week war won by Britain.
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“The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are,” a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday. “Self-determination rests with the islanders and our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.”
Starmer supported calls for FIFA to investigate, the spokesperson said, after U.K. Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the players’ behavior was “entirely inappropriate.”
FIFA can prosecute Argentina’s players and soccer federation because its disciplinary code prohibits at stadiums any “message that is not appropriate for a sports event” including those of “a political, ideological, religious or offensive nature.”
In a statement to ESPN on Thursday, FIFA said: “As is standard procedure, FIFA’s independent Disciplinary Committee is currently assessing the match reports and considering the relevant circumstances before deciding on potential further steps based on the FIFA Disciplinary Code.”
The FIFA fines for political messaging range from around $5,000 to $20,000.
Argentina were fined by FIFA after holding up a banner with the same slogan after a friendly against Slovenia in 2014.
Argentine President Javier Milei described the players’ celebration with the banner on Wednesday as “perfectly valid,” saying the message “reflects a sentiment shared by all Argentines.” But he said he expected FIFA to sanction the team with a fine.
“What the players do is understandable; they get carried away by their emotions, they act on impulse, and that will likely lead to discussions about a fine,” Milei told a local Buenos Aires radio station.
Vice President Victoria Villarruel was more vocal in her support, posting a photo on social media of the players raising the banner with the caption: “The Malvinas are Argentine! They banned us from bringing [signs] into the stadium, forgetting that we carry them in our blood and in our hearts.”
On Wednesday, Argentina player Lisandro Martínez was asked if the banner could have stirred deep emotions for veterans of the conflict.
“We couldn’t let the Argentine people down” said Martínez, who has played in England for the past four years with Manchester United.
A FIFA disciplinary case under previous leadership banned a South Korea player for two 2014 World Cup qualifying games because he held up a similar banner about a territorial claim against Japan at the 2012 London Olympics. Park Jong-Woo took a fan banner with the slogan “Dokdo is our territory” after South Korea beat Japan in the men’s bronze medal game.
Spain players Rodri and Álvaro Morata were banned for one match each by UEFA, European football’s governing body, after singing about their country’s claim to Gibraltar after winning Euro 2024.
Referencing those sanctions, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called for the Argentina players seen holding the banner to be suspended for Sunday’s final against Spain.
Sources told ESPN’s Pedro Ivo Almeida that FIFA is unlikely to rule on the issue before Sunday’s final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
England were eliminated from the World Cup after an opening goal from Anthony Gordon‘s opener was overturned by two late goals from Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez, both of which were set up by Lionel Messi. Spain beat France on Tuesday to join Argentina in the final.
The sporting rivalry between the two countries is heightened by political tensions over the South Atlantic archipelago. It is a British overseas territory with a population of around 3,500 people located about 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) from the U.K. and 300 miles (480 kilometers) from Argentina.
Argentina argues the islands were illegally taken from it in 1833. Britain, which says its territorial claim dates to 1765, sent a warship to the islands in 1833 to expel Argentine forces who sought to establish sovereignty over the territory.
The war in 1982 killed 649 Argentine troops, 255 British service personnel and three islanders.
That conflict ended during the 1982 World Cup in Spain where Argentina, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland all played. British television networks declined to broadcast Argentina playing in the tournament’s opening game, when the defending champion lost to Belgium.
“Sadly, it is a sad part of our history,” Argentina player Leandro Paredes said in Atlanta about the banner, “for everyone involved in that chapter of, I repeat, our history. And it hurts. We knew we were playing for them, too.”
British government minister Kyle told the BBC “politics needs to be separate from football.”
“In fact, the World Cup has one of its central tenets that politics is separate from football,” he said. “That is now a matter for FIFA.”
ESPN’s Tom Hamilton, The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.
