Argentina are set to face disciplinary action after their players held up a banner about the Falkland Islands after their World Cup semi-final win over England.
Article 34.3 of the tournament’s rules prohibits the display of any political messages or slogans by players before, during or after a match, yet members of Argentina’s squad held up a banner which read ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ which translates to ‘The Falkland Islands are Argentinian’ after the victory in Atlanta.
The Falkland Islands are a UK overseas territory, with islanders voting overwhelmingly to remain so in 2013. In April 1982 Argentinian forces invaded the islands but were forced to surrender by June of the same year.
Argentina were fined by FIFA after holding up a banner with the same slogan after a friendly against Slovenia in 2014, while the Football Association was told by FIFA at the 2022 World Cup that England captain Harry Kane would face sporting sanctions starting with a yellow card if he wore a rainbow-coloured ‘OneLove’ armband at the finals in Qatar, a country which criminalises homosexuality.
Spain players Rodri and Alvaro Morata were banned for one match each by European football’s governing body UEFA 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.
Former England international Peter Reid described the Argentina banner display as “beyond the pale”.
Asked whether a fine would suffice, Reid told BBC Breakfast on Thursday: “What else can you do? I don’t know. Unless they ring (United States President) Donald Trump and he sorts it out, because obviously he runs FIFA, doesn’t he?”
President Trump revealed he had personally asked his FIFA counterpart Gianni Infantino to “review” a red card shown to US striker Folarin Balogun earlier in the tournament. FIFA’s disciplinary committee – which Infantino insisted was entirely independent – subsequently suspended the one-match ban which allowed Balogun to play in their World Cup last 16 match against Belgium.
Argentina players – including Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez – have never faced any sanction from South American confederation CONMEBOL after they sang a derogatory song about France’s black players following their Copa America success in 2024.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni spoke before Wednesday’s match against England about how he wanted to avoid mixing politics with football, but his cause was not helped when the country’s vice-president Victoria Villarruel described England as “invaders” and “usurping pirates” in an X post prior to the match.
Argentina’s actions were also condemned on Thursday morning by Business Secretary Peter Kyle, who described the banner as “entirely inappropriate”.
