Tigres players held up a banner about the Falkland Islands after defeating Nacional (Image: X (TWITTER))
Argentina’s soccer team pulled off another big feat in the Falkland Islands on Tuesday night after winning the Copa Sudamericana playoffs. Buenos Aires-based Tigre secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Uruguay’s Nacional to secure a place in the second leg. After the final whistle, the players celebrated by unfurling a banner similar to the one the Argentina national team put up after their World Cup semi-final victory over England.
The banners carry exactly the same message: “Argentina, son of Las Malvinas,” which translates to “The Falkland Islands are Argentina.” It was held proudly aloft as Tigres players celebrated with their fans, chanting “If you don’t jump, you’re British”. The chant has become popular among Argentine soccer fans since Argentina’s defeat in the Falklands war more than 40 years ago.
Before the match, Tigres players posed for an official team photo with another banner thanking the Argentina national team for its performance at the World Cup. It read, “A champion is someone who never gives up. Thank you, National Team.”
The sovereignty of the Falkland Islands became a hot topic after England lost to Argentina in the semi-finals.
The two countries famously went to war in 1982, when Argentina launched a surprise invasion to seize the islands.
They were quickly defeated by the British, who succeeded in retaking the island in just 10 weeks, forcing Argentina to surrender.
Many Argentineans still believe they have rights, even though the Falkland Islands population overwhelmingly supports remaining under British control.
In the 2013 referendum, only three people voted in favor of severing ties with the UK, but more than 1,500 residents said they wanted the status quo to remain. At the time, Argentina rejected the referendum result as a “parody”.
The Falkland Islands government issued a statement after the World Cup semi-final, admitting it was “not surprised” by the Argentine players’ actions.
Argentina’s national team also put up a similar banner after defeating England. (Image: Getty)
They said: “The Falkland Islands Government is disappointed, but not surprisingly, by the decision by the Argentine football team to taint the result of last night’s World Cup football semi-final, which in no case involved the Falkland Islands.”
“However, it is news to almost no one that the people of the island 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.
“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.”
Argentina has yet to be punished by the governing body, despite FIFA rules stipulating that teams displaying political messages are subject to sanctions.
The World Cup’s stadium code of conduct prohibited “any material of a political, offensive and/or discriminatory nature, including but not limited to banners, flags, leaflets, clothing and other paraphernalia.”
This included “words, symbols or other attributes aimed at discrimination of any kind against a country, private person or group (…) on the grounds of political or other opinions”.
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