Argentina players celebrated their World Cup semi-final victory over England by displaying a banner that read 'Las Malvinas son Argentinas', a direct reference to the 1982 Falklands war. The banner was held up by Lisandro Martínez and Giovani Lo Celso after Argentina came from 1-0 down to win 2-1 in Atlanta, securing their place in the final against Spain.
Match details and banner display
Argentina trailed 1-0 with five minutes remaining but scored twice in quick succession to reach a second consecutive World Cup final. The banner, which refers to the disputed territory known as the Falkland Islands in Britain and Islas Malvinas in Argentina, was unfurled on the pitch as players waved to fans. The conflict 44 years ago lasted 74 days and resulted in 649 Argentinian and 255 British deaths.
Political reactions and Fifa rules
UK business secretary Peter Kyle called the banner 'entirely inappropriate' and urged Fifa to investigate. Fifa's stadium code of conduct prohibits political banners, and the organisation has not yet commented. Argentina's security minister Alejandra Monteoliva announced enhanced security for the final, with 1,600 officers deployed to prevent provocative messages.
Player comments and previous incidents
Martínez, who plays for Manchester United, said displaying the banner stirred deep emotions: 'I can picture a Malvinas veteran seeing that and weeping.' Teammate Leandro Paredes added: 'Sadly, it is a sad part of our history... We knew we were playing for them, too.' This is not the first political banner incident during the World Cup; earlier, Iranian Americans waved pre-revolutionary flags without incident. After beating Switzerland in the quarter-final, some Argentina players chanted: 'For the Malvinas, for Diego [Maradona] and for Leo [Messi]’s last one.'
