MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

FIFA weighs possible sanctions against Argentina over Falklands banner against England

A spokesperson for the body said that, as part of standard procedure, its independent disciplinary committee “is currently assessing the match reports and considering the relevant circumstances”

FIFA said it is assessing possible disciplinary measures against Argentina after several 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.

A spokesperson for the body said that, as part of standard procedure, its independent disciplinary committee “is currently assessing the match reports and considering the relevant circumstances” before deciding on any steps under its disciplinary code. The rule at issue prohibits the display of political messages or slogans by players before, during, or after a match. After the final whistle, Argentine players — among them Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, and Giovani Lo Celso — held up a banner, handed to them by fans from the stands, reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (“The Falklands are Argentine”).

The episode has a direct precedent: in 2014, FIFA fined the Argentine Football Association around 30,000 Swiss francs (about $27,000) over an identical banner displayed before a friendly against Slovenia, ruling that it breached rules on political action and team misconduct. According to the sources consulted, there is no prospect of Argentina losing its place in the final.

In the United Kingdom, calls for sanctions grew. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey wrote to FIFA demanding that the players who held the banner be suspended for the final, citing the precedent of UEFA, which in 2024 handed one-match bans to Spain's Álvaro Morata and Rodri for chanting “Gibraltar is Spanish” during Euro 2024 celebrations. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and minister Peter Kyle also backed an investigation. The islands' government said it was “disappointed” by the gesture and urged FIFA to sanction conduct of that kind.

Argentina's president, Javier Milei, had called it “valid and lawful” for the players to express themselves, though he asked that it not be read as part of the diplomatic dispute: “A football match is a football match,” he said, reiterating that the claim would be pursued “diplomatically.”

The Falklands, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic, remain the subject of a sovereignty dispute with Argentina, which invaded the islands in 1982 under the military junta led by General Leopoldo Galtieri. The 74-day war left 649 Argentine servicemen, 255 British servicemen, and three islanders dead. In the 2013 referendum, on a turnout above 90%, 1,513 of 1,517 voters chose to remain a British territory. Argentina will play the final on Sunday in New Jersey.