Argentina players unfurl Falklands political flag after England game | World Cup 2026

The poster, featuring Lisandro Martinez and Giovani Lo Celso, is against the FIFA Stadium Code of Conduct.

The Argentinian players carried a banner proclaiming “Las Malvinas Son Argentinas” (“The Falklands are Argentinian”) behind them. 2-1 victory in the semi final of the World Cup in England, it is against the rules of FIFA.

FIFA’s Stadium Code of Conduct prohibits “signs, flags, flyers, clothing and other political, offensive, and/or discriminatory material” inside stadiums.

World football’s governing body did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on Wednesday.

The question of sovereignty over the South Atlantic Islands – known to the British as the Falklands and the Argentinians as the Malvinas – has been going on for a long time. pain in the relationship between countries.

They fought a brief conflict on the islands in 1982, in which 649 Argentine soldiers and 255 British soldiers died. Britain won, and most of the islanders want to remain part of Britain.

But Argentina has been saying that it received the islands from Spain after its independence in 1816 and that Britain took control in 1833 through a coup d’état.

Lisandro Martinez and Giovani Lo Celso held up a banner, laughing, and waving to the fans in the stands. It is not known where the flag came from.

This is not the first time that the question of political flags has come up during the World Cup. Last month in Los Angeles, Iranian Americans he waved the flag before the change began which are signs of opposition to the government of Tehran where Iran played. The game went on without a hitch.