
Argentina's government released on Wednesday night, amid celebrations over its team's World Cup semifinal win against England, a note of protest to the United Kingdom over the movements of HMS Medway, a Royal Navy patrol vessel assigned to the Falklands. The protest had been formally lodged with the British Embassy in Buenos Aires on July 13, but the Foreign Ministry chose to make it public once the match had ended, fusing the diplomatic complaint with the gesture of the Argentine players, who celebrated with a banner backing the sovereignty claim.

The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) has voiced its dismay at the banner with which Argentine players celebrated their World Cup semifinal win over England, and called on FIFA to sanction conduct of that kind in line with its own rules. In a statement issued on Thursday, the Islands' executive said it was “disappointed – though regrettably not surprised” that the Argentine team chose to tarnish the result of a match that in any case did not involve the Falklands.

Argentina could face disciplinary action from FIFA after several of its players celebrated their World Cup semifinal win over England with a banner supporting Argentina's claim to the Falklands. The defending champions came from behind in Atlanta to win 2-1 and reach Sunday's final against Spain.

Spain and the United Kingdom are seeking to elevate to strategic a bilateral relationship shaped for decades by the Gibraltar dispute, after the treaty between the European Union and the United Kingdom on the territory entered provisional application in the early hours of Wednesday. The agreement, signed on Tuesday in Brussels, brought the dismantling of the fence that had separated the British territory from the Spanish municipality of La Línea de la Concepción since the early twentieth century.

Argentina defeated England 2-1 in the World Cup semifinal on Wednesday and will play the final on Sunday, July 19, against Spain. The side coached by Lionel Scaloni overturned a deficit and broke down late in the match the resistance of an opponent that sat back after taking the lead.