Trending 
Football’s global governing body FIFA has said it is reviewing match reports before deciding whether to take disciplinary action after Argentina’s players displayed a banner reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (“The Falklands are Argentine”) following their 2-1 World Cup semi-final victory over England.
The football governing body said on Thursday that its independent disciplinary committee was assessing the reports and relevant circumstances before determining whether any further action was warranted under the FIFA disciplinary code.
“As is standard procedure, FIFA’s independent disciplinary committee is currently assessing the match reports and considering the relevant circumstances before deciding on potential further steps based on the FIFA disciplinary code,” it said.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Downing Street office on Thursday backed the calls by Business Minister Peter Kyle, who called the flag waving an “egregious violation” of FIFA rules which ban political symbols on the field of play.
“The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
The banner revived the long-running sovereignty dispute over the South Atlantic archipelago, which Argentina calls the Malvinas.
Argentina invaded the British Overseas Territory in 1982 before Britain regained control following a 10-week war.
FIFA previously fined the Argentine Football Association in 2014 after players posed with a similar banner before a friendly against Slovenia, ruling that the display breached its rules on political activity and team misconduct.
Argentine President Javier Milei defended the latest display, describing it as a legitimate expression of national sentiment and reiterating that Argentina would pursue its claim to the islands through diplomatic means.
“It’s a feeling that exists within all Argentines,” he told El Observador radio station.
“The Malvinas are Argentine, we’re going to recover them, and we will do it through diplomatic means,” Milei said.
Vice President Victoria Villarruel also fuelled tensions before the semi-final by reportedly referring to the English as “usurping pirates.”
Following the match, Argentina’s Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno announced that Buenos Aires had lodged a formal protest over the passage of Britain’s HMS Medway near the Falkland Islands, describing the movement of the naval vessel as illegal.
