Falkland Banner: How Political Gestures Have Been Punished So Far

The British government expects world football's governing body FIFA to investigate the provocation involving a political banner after England's World Cup semi-final exit against Argentina.

Players from the South American country had displayed a banner with the inscription "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" ("The Falkland Islands are Argentine") after their 2-1 triumph in Atlanta. British Business Secretary Peter Kyle said that politics must be kept out of football.

"The trophy may not belong to us, but the Falkland Islands definitely do"

"We expect FIFA to investigate that," Kyle said on BBC television.

The spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said of the provocation: "The World Cup trophy may not belong to us, but the Falkland Islands definitely do."

Spain Players Suspended Two Years Ago

FIFA prohibits players and officials from displaying political messages around World Cup matches. The Argentine team could therefore face consequences.

The possible sanctions for the players can vary depending on the case, as stipulated in FIFA regulations: "In the event of a breach of this provision, the player and/or the team will be sanctioned by the competition organiser, the national football association or FIFA."

At Euro 2024, there was a similar scene around the match between Spain and England when Alvaro Morata and Rodri chanted: "Gibraltar is Spanish." Both were subsequently suspended for one match by UEFA.

Argentina Fined Twelve Years Ago for Similar Incident

The Argentines had already held up a banner with the same message during a friendly match against Slovenia in 2014, for which the association was then fined 20,000 Swiss Francs.

Another case: Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka and Stephan Lichtsteiner displayed the "double eagle" during the World Cup match against Serbia. Shaqiri and Xhaka each had to pay 8,680 Euros, Lichtsteiner 4,340 Euros.

"As usual, FIFA's independent Disciplinary Committee is currently reviewing the match reports and weighing the relevant circumstances before deciding on possible further steps based on the FIFA Disciplinary Code," a FIFA spokesperson told dpa.

Milei Reacts Diplomatically

Argentina's President Javier Milei struck a diplomatic tone. He told radio station "El Observador" that the Falkland banner was an expression of a deeply rooted sentiment in Argentina and that it was perfectly legitimate to want to express it.

At the same time, he also emphasized: "A football match is a football match." He added that regaining the islands was only possible "through diplomatic channels and with a clever approach."

Great Britain and Argentina fought an armed conflict over control of the South Atlantic archipelago in the 1982 Falklands War, which left hundreds dead.

The British military then succeeded in driving out the Argentine attackers from the sparsely populated overseas territory. The defeat accelerated the fall of the military government in the country. But to this day, Buenos Aires has not given up its claims to the archipelago, known in Argentina as Las Malvinas.