FIFA is considering disciplinary action against Argentina after some of its players displayed a banner with a political message following their 2-1 victory over England in the World Cup semi-final.
After the match on Wednesday, several Argentine players, including Lisandro Martinez, Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso, were seen holding a banner reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" ("The Falkland Islands are Argentines"). The message refers to the historic dispute over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), which led to war between Argentina and Great Britain in 1982. In that conflict, 649 Argentine soldiers and 255 British soldiers lost their lives.
The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, but Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over them.
According to FIFA regulations, the display of political messages during football activities is prohibited. This is not the first time Argentina has faced this issue. In 2014, the Argentine Football Federation was fined 20,000 pounds after players displayed the same banner before a friendly match against Slovenia.
According to The Guardian, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman confirmed that the British government supports Minister Peter Kyle's request for FIFA to investigate the incident.
Meanwhile, a FIFA spokesperson announced that the Independent Disciplinary Committee is analyzing the match reports and assessing all the circumstances before deciding whether to open disciplinary proceedings against Argentina.
"As part of standard procedure, FIFA's Independent Disciplinary Committee is reviewing the match reports and assessing all relevant circumstances, before deciding on possible further steps in accordance with the FIFA Disciplinary Code," the world football governing body said in a statement.
FIFA's reaction comes after the Falkland Islands Government officially requested sanctions against Argentina.
