After the Falkland Islands’ 2-1 victory over England in the World Cup semi-finals, a number of coach Lionel Scaloni’s players brandished a controversial banner that read “The Falkland Islands are Argentina”.
Argentina players hold up banners after Wednesday’s match (Image: Nick Potts/PA Wire)
The Falkland Islands government has asked FIFA to sanction the Argentine national soccer team for interfering with politics at the World Cup. After the country won 2-1 in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday night, a number of Lionel Scaloni’s players held up banners that read “Argentina, son of Las Malvinas”.
The message translates as “The Falkland Islands are Argentina” in a sharp jab over ownership of the South Atlantic islands. Britain colonized the Falkland Islands in 1833, but Argentina invaded the Islands in 1982, sparking a 74-day war in which more than 100 warships were dispatched by then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
As a result of the conflict, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British troops, and three Falklands civilians were killed while the British defended their territory. But Argentina has continued to contest sovereignty, believing it has rights to neighboring islands.
This ultimately led to protests from the Argentine national team on Wednesday, with players bringing politics into soccer, something that was thought to have been banned by FIFA for some time.
World Football’s official regulations state: “For any violation, the player and/or team may be subject to sanction by the competition organiser, national football association or FIFA.”
And now the Falkland Islands government is urging FIFA to keep its promise and seeking sanctions for the Argentine team’s actions. They told Mirror Football in a statement: “The Falkland Islands Government is disappointed, but unfortunately not surprised, by the Argentine football team’s decision to taint the result of last night’s World Cup soccer semi-final. In any event, it was a match in which the Falkland Islands were not involved.”
“Having said that, it is hardly news to anyone that the people of the Islands were victims of an aggressive invasion in 1982 that left many traumatized.The banner that Argentina put up last night was therefore particularly insensitive to many people in the Falkland Islands.
“It is the Falkland Islands Government’s commitment that we do not want politics to enter sport. We also do not want the island and its people to be used as a political football in any conversation about England and Argentina.”
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“We welcome the UK Government’s supportive statement this morning. As Business Secretary Peter Kyle has highlighted, the World Cup has one of its central tenets: the separation of politics and football.
“We hope FIFA will follow through on its promise to remove politics from sport and sanction all this type of behavior in line with its own rules.”
The move comes after Mr. Kyle also requested similar sanctions. He said: “My reaction was that it was totally inappropriate. Politics needs to be separated from football.
“In fact, there is a core philosophy of the World Cup that politics and football are separate. That is now a FIFA issue. I expect FIFA to conduct a thorough investigation.”
He added: “I think it was certain that something like this would happen because it was such a gross violation of the rules that there should be no political activity as part of football.”
FIFA has since released its own statement on the matter, with a spokesperson saying: “As is standard procedure, FIFA’s Independent Disciplinary Committee is currently assessing the match report and considering the relevant circumstances before deciding on possible further action in accordance with the FIFA Disciplinary Code.”
However, it is unlikely that any sanctions will be imposed ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium. Kick-off for that match is scheduled for 8pm BST.
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