FIFA will fine Argentina for the Falklands banner at the World Cup. What you need to know

FIFA has initiated disciplinary proceedings against the Argentina national team after the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final match against England. After the victory, the players of the Argentine national team unfurled a banner with the inscription "Malvinas Islands — Argentina", which is a direct violation of FIFA rules prohibiting any political statements on the field. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

Argentina — England Semi-final

The semifinal match of the World Cup in North America between the national teams of Argentina and England took place on July 15 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (USA). The match ended with a 2-1 victory for the Argentines.

England opened the scoring first: winger Anthony Gordon scored in the 55th minute. However, the Argentines managed to turn the tide of the game: in the 85th minute, midfielder Enzo Fernandez scored, and in the 90 +2 minute, forward Lautaro Martinez brought his team victory. Striker Lionel Messi scored two goals in the game.

The match was accompanied by political tension. Even before the game, Argentine Vice President Victoria Villarruel called the British "usurping pirates," saying that "playing against the British is always something more." She also stressed that the confrontation with the England national team is "The Malvinas Islands, this is Diego [Maradona], this is the last word of Leo [Messi] and the opportunity to stop the invaders."

The banner incident and FIFA's reaction

Immediately after the final whistle, Argentina's national football team, including Giovanni Lo Celso, Nicolas Otamendi, Lisandro Martinez, Cristian Romero and Leandro Paredes, unfurled a banner reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" ("The Malvinas Islands are Argentine"). Midfielder Paredes said after the match that the Malvinas Islands "will always belong to Argentina."

FIFA's disciplinary regulations strictly prohibit the demonstration of any political statements and slogans during official tournaments. In this regard, the federation may impose a fine on the Argentine Football Association. We are talking about financial sanctions against the national federation, not the disqualification of specific players.

In 2014, the Argentines already showed a similar banner during a friendly match with the Slovenian national team. FIFA also fined the Argentine Football Association.

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The conflict over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)

The Falkland Islands (Malvinas in Spanish—speaking countries) are officially a self-governing overseas territory of Great Britain, located 460 km off the coast of Argentina. The Republic has been contesting sovereignty over this archipelago for decades.

In April 1982, Argentina launched Operation Rosario, the invasion of the Falkland Islands. This led to an armed conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom, which lasted 74 days. As a result of the war, Great Britain regained control of the territory. The losses amounted to about 250 British and 640 Argentine troops.

Early causes of conflict

The roots of the conflict go back to the colonial era. Formally, the archipelago was discovered in 1690 by the British navigator John Strong, but the islands were known to Europeans as early as the 16th century. In 1764, a French navigator founded a settlement on the islands and named them the Malvinas Islands, but a year later, an English captain declared the archipelago a British possession. Until the end of the first third of the 19th century, the islands changed hands several times, until the British finally established themselves in these territories. In 1833, Great Britain declared the Falkland Archipelago its territory.

Since gaining independence in 1816, Argentina has disputed British sovereignty, arguing for the discovery of the islands in the early 16th century by Amerigo Vespucci and the territorial proximity of the archipelago. However, this dispute never escalated into a serious conflict until 1982.

Galtieri's rise to power

Events took a new turn in the late 1970s, when information appeared about the discovery of large oil reserves on the shelf of the Falkland Islands, which, according to experts, exceeded the oil wealth of the North Sea by 13 times. This gave the dispute over the islands an economic and military-strategic rationale — the British began talking about the need to ensure the safety of passage between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

The decisive factor leading to the war was the internal situation in Argentina. In 1976, Leopoldo Galtieri came to power in the country. During the five years of his rule, the country plunged into recession, terror began on the streets, and public discontent grew. To raise its ratings, the military government decided on a small military conflict. Galtierin believed that a victorious war was a good way to gain popular recognition, and that Britain, which had lost its status as a colonial power, would not be able to defend such a remote territory.

The formal reason for the outbreak of the conflict was the raising of the national flag by Argentine workers on the island of South Georgia at the end of March 1982. Later, on April 2, 1982, Argentina launched Operation Rosario, an invasion of the Falkland Islands, where the British garrison was stationed.

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The legendary match of 1986: "Hand of God" and "Goal of the Century"

The quarterfinal of the World Cup between Argentina and England took place at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on June 22, 1986. This match was especially crucial — just four years earlier, Argentina and Great Britain had fought over the Falkland Islands.

Midfielder Diego Maradona scored both goals against the British. First, in the 51st minute, he scored the ball with his hand - this goal went down in history as the "Hand of God". Maradona himself later admitted that it was "symbolic revenge against the British for the Falkland Islands." Four minutes later, he scored the second goal — after the greatest solo pass, which was called the "Goal of the Century." Argentina won that match 2-1 and eventually became the world champion.