Argentina could face disciplinary action from Fifa after players displayed a banner supporting the country’s claim to the Falkland Islands following their World Cup semi-final victory over England.
The defending champions staged a dramatic late comeback in Atlanta, scoring twice to secure a 2-1 win over Thomas Tuchel’s side and set up a meeting with Spain in Sunday’s final.
During the post-match celebrations, Argentina players held a banner bearing the words “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, which translates as “The Falklands are Argentine”.
The Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean, have long been at the centre of a sovereignty dispute between Britain and Argentina.
Located about 300 miles off Argentina’s east coast, the islands were the subject of a 74-day war between the two countries from April to June 1982.
The conflict claimed the lives of 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen, while three islanders were also killed.
Argentina have previously been sanctioned over a similar display. In 2014, Fifa fined the Argentine Football Association £20,000 after players held up a banner carrying the same message before a friendly against Slovenia.
Football’s world governing body ruled that the gesture breached regulations concerning political action and team misconduct.
Following Wednesday’s victory, Argentine Vice-President Victoria Villarruel posted on X that “it wasn’t just another match”, alongside a video appearing to show Argentine soldiers.
“The Falklands are Argentine,” Villarruel posted. “They banned bringing them to the stadium and forgot that we carry them in our blood and our hearts.”
Ahead of the semi-final, Villarruel had also described the match as being “about putting the invaders in their place”.
Argentina’s players previously sang chants referring to the Falklands, as well as national football icons Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, following their dramatic 3-2 victory over Egypt in the last 16.
However, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni had sought to distance the semi-final from the political and historical tensions between the two nations.
“The reality is that this is a football match. I can’t mix things up, especially out of respect for what happened so many years ago,” Scaloni had said.
“It was a very sad period in our history, and there isn’t much we can do about it, that’s the reality.
“Things are happening elsewhere in the world, and we criticise the existence of war. We certainly remember those people, of course. But it is a football match – we shouldn’t confuse the two.”
The semi-final was held under heightened security because of the historical tensions between Argentina and England.
Late goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez ultimately ended England’s hopes of reaching the final and completed Argentina’s 2-1 comeback victory.
