Argentina break FIFA guidelines minutes after England World Cup win with Falklands banner
Argentina beat England in a dramatic World Cup semi-final but the South Americans could face FIFA sanctions after Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso displayed a political Falklands banner in their post-match celebrations
Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso hold up the Argentina Falklands banner(Image: Getty)
Argentina players breached FIFA regulations mere moments after defeating England in their World Cup semi-final by brandishing a Falklands banner on the pitch.
The reigning world champions staged another remarkable comeback in North America, having been 1-0 down with just six minutes of regular time remaining.
Late strikes from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez overturned Anthony Gordon’s initial goal to arrange a clash with European champions Spain in New Jersey this Sunday.
However, during their post-match jubilations, the South Americans were discovered to have violated the rules of the global football governing body. FIFA maintains a firm policy that bans any political flags, slogans and symbols from being exhibited inside stadiums.
Earlier in the tournament, England flags featuring a Barrow AFC logo – which includes a submarine – were barred from entry into venues as they were deemed political.
Giovani Lo Celso laid the banner down on the pitch(Image: Getty)
Yet Argentina could now face repercussions for their actions after a banner reading ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’, referencing the 1982 Falklands War and translating to ‘The Malvinas (Falklands) are Argentine’, was displayed. The incident is anticipated to be reported to FIFA.
IFAB Law 4 stipulates: “Messages or images of a political, religious, or personal nature must not be displayed. If a player shows a shirt, garment, or holds up any item with such messages, the player and/or their team can be sanctioned.”
Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni had attempted to defuse pre-match tensions when he branded it “wrong” to make the fixture about the conflict. Hostilities persist over the Falklands, with Argentina continuing to challenge the sovereignty of the British overseas territory.
Their supporters and squad have routinely chanted songs regarding the issue. But Scaloni, who guided La Albiceleste to World Cup triumph at Qatar 2022, said: “It’s a football match; I can’t mix things up, out of respect for what happened so many years ago.
“It was a very sad time in our history, and there isn’t much we can do about it. Mixing the two would be madness. We criticise that there was war. Of course people remember history and what happened. It is a game of football, we need to keep things separate.
Argentina players fly a banner about the Falklands after beating England(Image: Getty)
“Yes, we remember Argentinian people and people that were lost in the war, but let’s not conflate things. What do the players of today have to do with many, many years ago? It was a sad time, we remember this, of course, but it would be quite wrong to put this into the game.”
In stark contrast, Argentina’s vice-president Victoria Villarruel inflamed matters by branding England “usurping pirates” and “invaders”. She added: “Because until our last breath, we’re going to claim what’s ours!”.
And Scaloni’s words went unheeded after the final whistle. Tottenham defender Cristian Romero and midfielder Giovani Lo Celso displayed the banner before the Argentina supporters, with the latter – who previously turned out for Spurs – then placing it on the turf.
The episode sparked fury online. There were also ugly confrontations outside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium following the match, with police intervening to prevent clashes between England and Argentina supporters.
Despite the Argentine banner, Falkland Islanders voted decisively to remain a UK overseas territory when they staged a referendum in 2013. Chair of the Legislative Assembly said: “The Falkland Islands are a proud member of the British family and we will defend our status as an internally self-governing, financially self-sufficient British Overseas Territory.
“As a country we have to continually remind the international community that Falkland Islanders’ have the right to self-determination; that will was never more clearly exercised than in the referendum 10 years ago and must be respected by those who value democracy and freedom.
“The political status of the Islands is the decision of our people and not of our aggressive and hostile neighbour. I will never forget the feeling of pride over those two days when we had the world watching our Islands and our people so clearly expressed our wishes.
“A decade on, nothing has changed and the Falklands remain resolute in our allegiance to the United Kingdom and our determination to decide our own political future.”
Argentina are aiming to become the first consecutive World Cup victors since Brazil in 1962. The only other nation to retain the trophy were Italy in 1938.
The reigning champions face Spain in Sunday’s final at the MetLife Stadium at 8pm UK time.
Meanwhile, England will square off against France in the third-place play-off at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night (10pm UK time).
