Team Argentina may face fines by FIFA after members were seen hoisting a political banner declaring that the British-owned Falkland Islands actually belong to Argentina after they knocked England out of the World Cup on Wednesday.
As the Argentinians won a come-from-behind 2-1 upset, knocking England out of the tournament, some members were seen holding a banner reading, “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” — which translates to “The Falkland Islands are Argentine.”
The banner sent UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer calling for Argentinians to be fined for breaking FIFA rules against political activism on the field.
“FIFA prohibits the display of political, ideological or religious messages during competitions organized by the body,” according to the Argentinian newspaper Clarín.
The paper notes that FIFA will open an investigation after formal complaints are filed, and the team may face heavy financial penalties if FIFA finds they violated the ban on political speech.
There is precedent for a fine, too. As Clarín notes, during the 2018 World Cup in Russia, two Swiss players celebrated their goals against Serbia by displaying a double-headed eagle hand gesture, a move the Serbians said was a provocation because the double-headed eagle is the nationalist symbol of their rivals, the Albanians, and is an allusion to the longstanding conflicts between Serbia and Kosovo. The two players were sanctioned by FIFA and fined about $10,000 each.
In response to the banner on Wednesday, the UK government demanded that FIFA investigate the incident and, in a statement, insisted, “The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are,” GB News reported.
The Falklands have been a bone of contention between the UK and Argentina since 1883, when the British took control of the islands. Argentina has always claimed that the islands are part of its national holdings and, in 1982, even sent a military force to try and wrest control of the islands back from the British.
The military engagement cost the lives of 649 Argentine soldiers and 255 British troops and lasted for two months before Argentine forces retreated, leaving the islands in the hands of the British.
The citizens of the islands have held two local referendums on the issue, one in 1986 and a second in 2013. Both votes ended with residents opting to remain under British control (96.45 percent pro-UK in 1986 and 99.8 percent in 2013), according to Forbes magazine.
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