Argentina’s ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ banner on the pitch after their 2-1 World Cup semi-final win over England might lead to a FIFA punishment.
Argentina picked up a famous comeback 2-1 win over England in the semi-final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The dispute over the Falkland Islands saw Argentina’s on-field celebrations take a political turn after the team unfurled a banner to celebrate the win.
Argentina’s post-game banner directly flouts FIFA’s rules
After the ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ banner was unfurled, multiple fans and reporters pointed out that this directly disobeys FIFA’s rules about displaying political slogans.
“Direct flouting of FIFA rules as upheld by IFAB by Argentina on the pitch after beating England with the Falklands banner. Other teams could see this as freeing them up to display political slogans.”
The banner refers to the Falklands by its Spanish name, with Argentina using it to assert control over the British-controlled island.
The UK and Argentina went to war over the Falklands from April to June 1982. The conflict led to the deaths of 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen.
What FIFA rules did Argentina’s banner break?
The banner directly violated IFAB Law 4 (The Players’ Equipment) of the Laws of the Game, which explicitly states that players cannot use or display any equipment with political messaging.
The action was also banned by the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which prohibits the ‘use of gestures, words, objects, or any other means to transmit a message that is not appropriate for a sports event.’
FIFA’s Stadium Code of Conduct for the 2026 World Cup also bans banners, flags, flyers, apparel, and other paraphernalia of a political nature. This rule applies primarily to fans.
The last time Argentina faced punishment over this infringement was in 2014 for unfurling a banner with the same phrase before a 2-0 friendly win against Slovenia. They were fined £20,000 by FIFA.
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