Minister calls for Fifa investigation into Argentina Falklands banner

WorldFootball
16 Jul 2026 • 4:13 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Minister calls for Fifa investigation into Argentina Falklands banner

  • Argentina players held a banner saying “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (“The Falkland Islands are Argentinian”) after their World Cup semi-final victory against England.
  • The incident occurred despite Argentina's manager, Lionel Scaloni, saying before the game he did not want the fixture to become about the conflict over the British overseas territory.
  • “I had left and gone to bed before the banner came onto the pitch, but I saw the images this morning, and of course, it's entirely inappropriate,” business secretary Peter Kyle told Sky News. “I certainly think that Fifa should be looking into this. Absolutely, they should.”
  • Argentina's vice-president, Victoria Villarruel, had described England as “invaders” and “usurping pirates”, later sharing images of the players holding the banner.
  • Political tensions between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland Islands, known as Las Malvinas in Argentina, have lingered since the 1982 conflict.

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