Argentina could face disciplinary action from FIFA after several of its players displayed a banner supporting the country’s claim to the Falkland Islands following their 2-1 World Cup semi final victory over England on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
The reigning world champions came from behind to defeat England in Atlanta, with late goals from Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez securing a place in Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain.
After the final whistle, Argentine players celebrated by holding up a banner that read, “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (“The Falklands are Argentine”), a political message that could breach FIFA’s regulations prohibiting political displays at football events.
The Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, have remained the subject of a long standing sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom.
The dispute led to the 1982 Falklands War, a 74 day conflict that claimed the lives of 655 Argentine service personnel, 255 British service personnel and three islanders.
Argentina has previously been sanctioned by FIFA over a similar incident. In 2014, the Argentine Football Association was fined £20,000 after the national team displayed the same banner before an international friendly against Slovenia. FIFA ruled that the action violated its rules on political messages and team misconduct.
Reacting to Argentina’s latest victory, the country’s Vice President, Victoria Villarruel, posted on X that the match was “not just another game,” alongside a video appearing to show Argentine soldiers.
She later added, “The Falklands are Argentine. They banned bringing them to the stadium and forgot that we carry them in our blood and our hearts.”
Before the semi final, Villarruel had also described the clash with England as an opportunity to “put the invaders in their place.”
Argentina’s players had earlier attracted attention after chanting songs referencing the Falkland Islands, as well as football legends Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, following their dramatic 3-2 Round of 16 victory over Egypt.
However, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni had urged that football should remain separate from politics ahead of the encounter.
“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 said.
“It was a very sad period in our history, and there isn’t much we can do about it. 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 World Cup semi final was played under heightened security because of the historical tensions between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands.
