LONDON — The British government on Thursday urged FIFA to investigate Argentina’s team after players posed with a banner claiming sovereignty over the contested Falkland Islands.Argentina beat England 2-1 in a World Cup semifinal on Wednesday in Atlanta.During post-match celebrations, Argentine players held a banner handed over by fans in the stands, reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” — “The Malvinas are Argentine.”Argentina refers to the Falkland Islands as Islas Malvinas. They were invaded in 1982 under orders from Argentina’s then-military dictatorship, triggering a 10-week war won by Britain.“The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are,” a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday. “Self-determination rests with the islanders and our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.”Starmer supported calls for FIFA to investigate, the spokesperson said, after U.K. Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the players’ behavior was “entirely inappropriate.”FIFA can prosecute Argentina’s players and soccer federation because its disciplinary code prohibits at stadiums any “message that is not appropriate for a sports event” including those of “a political, ideological, religious or offensive nature.”The FIFA fines for political messaging are $5,000 to $20,000.FIFA was approached for comment Thursday.A FIFA disciplinary case under previous leadership banned a South Korea player for two 2014 World Cup qualifying games because he held up a similar banner about a territorial claim against Japan at the 2012 London Olympics. Park Jong-woo took a fan banner with the slogan “Dokdo is our territory” after South Korea beat Japan in the men’s bronze medal game.On Wednesday, Argentina player Lisandro Martínez was asked if the banner could have stirred deep emotions and tears for a veteran of the Malvinas conflict. “We couldn’t let the Argentine people down” said Martínez, who has played in England for the past four years with Manchester United. The sporting rivalry between the two countries is heightened by political tensions over the South Atlantic archipelago. It is a British overseas territory with a population of around 3,500 people located about 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) from the U.K. and 300 miles (480 kilometers) from Argentina.Argentina argues that the islands were illegally taken from it in 1833. Britain, which says its territorial claim dates to 1765, sent a warship to the islands in 1833 to expel Argentine forces who sought to establish sovereignty over the territory.The war in 1982 killed 649 Argentine troops, 255 British service personnel and three islanders.That conflict ended during the 1982 World Cup in Spain where Argentina, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland all played. British television networks declined to broadcast Argentina playing in the tou …
News Powered By AI
News Powered By AI