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FIFA has opened an investigation into Argentine players who showed a political flag after them World Cup final victory in England, which violated stadium regulations and drew attention in the United Kingdom to the issue of political control.
Defender Lisandro Martinez and unused substitute Giovani Lo Celso held up a sign reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, meaning “The Falklands are Argentinian”, as they celebrated the victory on the pitch, cheering and cheering fans in the stands after securing an impressive win on Wednesday.
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The move sparked controversy in the UK, where officials urged FIFA to investigate the matter and the world governing body confirmed it had launched an investigation as a “standard procedure”.
“FIFA’s independent commission is reviewing the reports of the match and assessing the situation before deciding on other measures based on FIFA regulations,” a FIFA spokesperson told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
It is not known where the poster in question came from, but FIFA could sue the Argentine players and the football federation for violating its rules in stadiums, which prohibit “any message that is inappropriate for the game”, including “political, ideological, religious or offensive”.
FIFA fines for sending political messages range from about $5,000 to $20,000.
Argentina will defend their World Cup title when they face Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday at the New York Stadium in New Jersey.
Asked on Wednesday if the banner would have raised more eyebrows among the fans, Martinez said: “We couldn’t offend the Argentines.” Martinez has been playing football in England for four years with Manchester United.
UK wants FIFA to investigate ‘serious breach’
Earlier on Thursday, British Trade Minister Peter Kyle did asked FIFA to investigate “serious breach” of FIFA rules.
“The World Cup may not be ours, but the Falklands certainly are,” Downing Street said. “Independence rests with the islanders and our commitment to the Falklands will not waver.”
Argentina invaded Britain in the South Atlantic in 1982.
But the United Kingdom regained the islands in a brief war after then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sent in an army.
Kyle urged world football’s governing body to “thoroughly investigate” what happened after Wednesday’s game in Atlanta in the US state of Georgia.
“Politics should be different from football. In fact, the World Cup has one of its main points that politics is different from football,” he said on BBC television.
“This is now a matter for FIFA. … We hope that FIFA will investigate this,” he added.
Britain annexed the Falklands in the 19th century, but Argentina claims the islands as part of its territory.
Argentine President Javier Milei described the players’ celebration with the banner as “acceptable”, saying that the message “shows the sentiments shared by all Argentines”. But he said he hopes that FIFA will punish the team with a fine.
“What the players do is understandable; they get carried away by their emotions, they act impulsively, and that can lead to a discussion about a fee,” Milei told Buenos Aires radio.
The Vice President of Argentina, Victoria Villarruel, raised these tensions before Wednesday’s meeting by calling the English “capture the bandits“.
The 1982 war ended with the death of 649 Argentines and 255 Britons.
After the World Cup victory, Argentina’s foreign minister said Buenos Aires had protested against a British warship near the Falkland Islands.
Pablo Quirno wrote on X to explain the “strong refusal” of the UK part of HMS Medway’s “unauthorized and illegal” passage through Argentine waters, saying that he did not have the necessary information.
Quirno said Mr Medway, who lives in the Falkland Islands, was accused of breaching bilateral agreements in a letter of protest on Monday delivered to the UK embassy in Buenos Aires.
Previous cases
The Argentine players showed the same words “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” during the warm-up game in June 2014 in Buenos Aires for the World Cup that started a few days later in Brazil.
FIFA’s ruling in the case was published after the tournament and fined Argentina 30,000 Swiss francs ($37,000).
An offense sanctioned by FIFA under the previous administration banned the South Korean player in two qualifying games for the 2014 World Cup because he carried a similar banner about Japan at the 2012 London Olympics. Park Jong-woo carried a banner with the words “Dokdo is our territory” after South Korea beat Japan in the bronze medal game. The FIFA ruling said the South Korean player’s actions “cannot be tolerated”.
At the 2022 World Cup, FIFA fined Serbia 20,000 Swiss francs ($24,800) for hanging a political banner about the independent state of Kosovo in the locker room before the game against Brazil. It showed a map of Serbia that included the territory of Kosovo, which has been an independent country since 2008, and the words “No Surrender”.
