Falkland Islands Government urges FIFA to sanction Argentina over post-match political banner

The Falkland Islands Government has formally urged FIFA to sanction Argentina after several of Lionel Scaloni’s players held up a banner reading ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ — ‘The Falklands are Argentinian’ — in the immediate aftermath of their 2-1 World Cup semi-final win over England on Wednesday.

The display drew swift condemnation from the islands’ government, which issued a statement describing the act as “particularly insensitive” to a population that lived through Argentina’s 1982 invasion. That 74-day conflict, ordered under the government of Margaret Thatcher, resulted in the deaths of 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British armed forces members, and three Falklands civilians.

In a statement provided to Mirror Football, the Falkland Islands Government said it was “disappointed — though regrettably not surprised” by the players’ actions, adding that it did not wish “the Islands and their people to be used as a political football in every conversation about England and Argentina.”

FIFA regulations explicitly state that players and teams can be sanctioned by the competition organiser, their national association, or FIFA itself for political displays. The Falkland Islands Government cited those rules directly in calling for action, stating it is “the avowed policy” of the islands not to see politics brought into sport.

Argentina have long disputed British sovereignty over the South Atlantic islands, which the United Kingdom has administered since 1833. The banner’s appearance in a World Cup semi-final — one of the sport’s most-watched stages — amplified the political charge of the gesture considerably.

The UK Government also issued a supportive statement, with Business Secretary Peter Kyle among those to respond publicly. FIFA has not yet announced whether it will open disciplinary proceedings against the Argentine Football Association.