Argentina face the prospect of a Fifa fine after their players celebrated the World Cup semi-final win against England with a banner in support of their country’s claims to the Falkland Islands.
The defending world champions produced a dramatic late comeback in Atlanta, scoring twice to defeat Thomas Tuchel’s side 2-1 and book a showdown with Spain in Sunday’s final.
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After the final whistle, their players were seen celebrating while holding a banner reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, which translates as “The Falklands are Argentine”.
The UK and Argentina went to war over the Falklands, an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean that has been a British Overseas Territory since 1833, from April to June 1982.
Argentina believes the group of islands, situated 300 miles off its east coast, should have sovereignty.
The 74-day conflict led to the deaths of 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen. Three people from the islands also died.
In 2014, Fifa fined the Argentine Football Association £20,000 after its players held up a banner with the same message before a friendly against Slovenia. World football’s governing body said the gesture breached rules on political action and team misconduct.
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Before the last-four tie, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni had said he was “not going to mix” football and politics.
“The reality is that this is a football match. I can’t mix things up, especially out of respect for what happened so many years ago,” Scaloni had said.
“It was a very sad period in our history, and there isn’t much we can do about it, that’s the reality.
“Things are happening elsewhere in the world, and we criticise the existence of war. We certainly remember those people, of course. But it is a football match – we shouldn’t confuse the two.”
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Argentina vice-president Victoria Villarruel, however, cited a chant which the players sang following their dramatic 3-2 win over Egypt in the last 16 which referenced the Falklands and Argentina greats Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.
“This is not just another match. I’m not going to be politically correct – against the English, it’s always something more,” wrote Villarruel in a post on X.
“It’s the Malvinas, it’s Diego, it’s Leo’s last one, and it’s about putting the invaders in their place.
“Long live Argentina! Because until our very last breath, we will reclaim what is ours!”
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The semi-final, which England lost to late goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez, was held under increased security measures because of the historical tensions between the two nations.
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