Fifa has opened disciplinary proceedings against Argentina over the Falkland Islands banner displayed after their World Cup semi‑final win against England in Atlanta.
As Argentina celebrated reaching the final with their dramatic 2-1 victory, several players held a sign proclaiming “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” – the Malvinas are Argentinian – in reference to the British overseas territory in the south Atlantic.
The dispute over the islands, which have been ruled by Britain since 1833, is long running and led to a 74-day conflict in 1982, during which more than 900 people – 649 Argentinians and 255 Britons – lost their lives.
Fifa’s disciplinary code prohibits “using a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature” and the banner prompted political debate on both sides of the Atlantic. A spokesperson for the then UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, said: “The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are.” Andrew Giuliani, the head of the White House Fifa taskforce, defended Argentina’s players, saying the US believed in free speech.
The incident was not the first time an Argentina team had expressed such sentiments. In 2014, Fifa fined Argentina £20,000 for a far larger banner held up by players before a friendly with Slovenia in La Plata.
Fifa’s full World Cup charge sheet against the Argentinian Football Association also includes “discriminatory chants and gestures, late kick-offs, failure to comply with match and security protocols, the display of inappropriate messages by the team and spectators and the throwing of objects by spectators in relation to several matches”.
Several players are also under investigation in relation to the chaotic scenes that followed Argentina’s 1-0 extra-time defeat by Spain in the final. As Spain attempted to celebrate, altercations broke out across the pitch at New York New Jersey Stadium.
The Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes, who was seen wrestling Spain’s Eric García to the ground, faces three counts of assault under the Fifa disciplinary code, while the defender Nahuel Molina faces two counts of assault (one completed and one attempted) and one count of unsporting behaviour.
The assistant coach, Roberto Ayala, faces one count of assault, and Thiago Almada, an unused substitute in the final, one count of unsporting behaviour. Spain’s Gavi also faces an unsporting behaviour charge.
“In accordance with the Fifa disciplinary code, the respondents have now been provided with the opportunity to present their position, following which a decision will be issued by the Fifa disciplinary committee in due course,” said Fifa.
