The chant comes 44 years after the Falklands War, which claimed 907 lives between April 2 and June 14, 1982. If England beat Norway on Saturday night and Argentina beat Switzerland early Sunday morning, these two fierce rivals will meet in the semi-finals. The Falklands War and its aftermath are likely to cast a shadow over any potential showdown.
The Daily Mail says world soccer’s governing body has no intention of sanctioning the South American players despite appearing to violate FIFA’s strict regulations on political expression on stadium grounds.
The song, sung by an Argentine, includes the line: “From the cradle to the grave, I am Argentine for the Malvinas, for Diego[Maradona]for the final chapter of Leo[Messi].” It also goes on to say: “I was born in Argentina, the land of Diego and Lionel, the land of the Malvinas players that I will never forget.”
Argentines call the Falkland Islands “Las Malvinas,” and the inclusion of the country of about 3,700 people is a direct nod to the conflict. Nevertheless, despite its firm stance against political slogans, slogans and banners inside tournament venues, FIFA has no intention of punishing teams.
Express Football has contacted FIFA for comment. Ahead of the World Cup matches, FIFA issued a warning regarding flags that are “political, offensive and/or discriminatory in nature”. In addition to confiscating an English flag with a silhouette of a soldier on it, authorities also confiscated a flag belonging to Barrow’s supporters that featured a submarine.
This is in no way a reference to the British military, as Barrow is famous for its submarine building tradition. The move to remove England’s flag for a political message while Argentine supporters went unpunished sparked widespread condemnation of FIFA’s inconsistent enforcement of its own rules.
The governing body has also indicated how it intends to exercise its authority over other matters during the Games. After President Donald Trump called Gianni Infantino, they controversially intervened to suspend Folarin Balogun’s one-year, one-game suspension and allow him to play in the U.S.-Belgium game.
FIFA claimed that an independent disciplinary committee had reached the decision, but Infantino’s open courtship of President Trump just before the tournament has left many with deep doubts about the organization’s explanation.
