Argentina could face FIFA disciplinary action after their players celebrated the 2-1 semi-final win over England by displaying a banner reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas". FIFA's rules prohibit political messaging at its tournaments, and the governing body fined Argentina's federation for a near-identical banner in 2014.
The match was barely over when the politics began. As Argentina's players celebrated a semi-final won by two goals in the last five minutes, a banner was unfurled on the pitch: "Las Malvinas son Argentinas."
FIFA prohibits political messages at its tournaments, and there is precedent for this exact banner. In 2014, the Argentine FA was fined £20,000 after players posed behind a "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" message before a friendly against Slovenia on the eve of that year's World Cup.
Argentina's players had also aired chants referencing the Falklands, alongside tributes to Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, after their 3-2 last-16 win over Egypt. Whether FIFA will act against Argentina and whether it does so before Sunday's final against Spain is now an open question.
Argentina's vice president made sure the moment traveled beyond the stadium. "The Falklands are Argentine!" Victoria Villarruel posted on X after the final whistle. "They banned bringing them to the stadium and forgot that we carry them in our blood and our hearts."
It was not her first intervention. "Tomorrow we play against the usurping pirates," she wrote before the game, having already framed the fixture in terms far beyond sport: "This isn't just another match... It's the Malvinas, it's Diego, it's Leo's last one."
Lionel Scaloni had drawn a clear line before kick-off. The Argentine manager had pleaded for the 1982 war to be left out of the occasion. "It's a football match, and I can't mix things up and, above all, out of respect for what happened many years ago," he said.
He went further: "We have to remember the people who died and their families, but it is not the fault of players; we are wrong if we mix things up." But right after the final whistle, the mixing had been done for him by his own players' banner and his own government's vice-president.
The banner row lands on an Argentina run that has drawn repeated complaints. Egypt filed a formal protest with FIFA over officiating in their 3-2 defeat, after a goal was disallowed by VAR and a penalty appeal was waved away.
Switzerland's camp objected too. Breel Embolo was sent off for simulation in the quarter-final after a VAR review, a decision Swiss coach Murat Yakin called "unacceptable".
FIFA's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina had already pushed back on bias claims. "Constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport," he said. "Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials."
Argentina now go through to the final as defending champions. The disciplinary question over the Falklands banner remains open, with no sanction yet confirmed.
