British Minister Urges FIFA to Investigate Argentina's Falklands Banner
London. British minister has urged FIFA to investigate the incident where Argentine players showed a banner reading 'Las Malvinas Son Argentinas' (Falklands belong to Argentina) after defeating England 2-1.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Downing Street office has supported Minister Peter Kyle's appeal.
The Argentine players displayed the banner on the field in Atlanta after the World Cup semi-final match. Minister Kyle stated that this is a 'gross violation' of FIFA's rule prohibiting any political symbols on the field.
Regarding this matter, a spokesperson for Downing Street said, 'The World Cup may not be ours, but the Falkland Islands are definitely ours.'
Minister Kyle urged FIFA on Wednesday to immediately investigate this incident after the match. Talking to the BBC, he said, 'Politics should be kept separate from football, this is the main principle of the World Cup. This is now FIFA's matter and we expect FIFA to investigate.' FIFA has not yet given any official reaction regarding this incident.
Britain occupied the Falklands in the 19th century, but Argentina has been claiming the islands as its territory. Due to this dispute, Argentina invaded this British overseas territory in the South Atlantic in 1982. Under the leadership of then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Britain recaptured the islands after a short war. In the 1982 conflict, 649 Argentine and 255 British soldiers died.
Immediately after winning the World Cup semi-final match, Argentina's Foreign Minister also formally registered a protest, stating that a British warship was near the Falklands. Foreign Minister Pablo Kirkno posted on X, expressing the 'strongest protest' against the 'inappropriate and illegal' journey of the offshore patrol vessel 'HMS Medway'.
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