There have been calls for the players involved to be banned from the World Cup final after displaying the banner in the semi-final against England
The US government will stand against a ban for Argentina players amid a FIFA investigation on the display of a banner about the Falkland Islands. There have been calls for Argentina to be punished after they celebrated with a banner that translated to “The Falklands are Argentine” following their semi-final win over England.
It was confirmed before the game that flags with any messages relating to the Islands would be banned from the stadium. FIFA have now confirmed that they are “assessing the match reports” before deciding on any disciplinary action.
The UK Government have called for an investigation, with a spokesperson saying: “The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are. Our position is unchanged. Self-determination rests with the islanders and our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.
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“More broadly, potential action is a matter for Fifa, but it’s been a fantastic World Cup and we’ve said throughout that politics should stay out of football.”
In an open letter to FIFA, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has called for the players holding the flag to be suspended for Sunday’s final vs Spain. But it seems that the White House is taking a different view.
According to Sky News, however, the White House would not back any move to ban Argentina players from Sunday’s final at MetLife Stadium. Reports suggest officials from President Donald Trump’s team have dismissed calls from the UK government to take action against the players who displayed the flag.
Most notably, Trump’s World Cup chief Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, has firmly maintained that Argentina were simply exercising their right to freedom of expression, citing the First Amendment of the US Constitution – though that would not stop them from being sanctioned for breaking FIFA’s rules.
It’s not the first time that Argentina had referenced the Falkland Islands, with them singing chants referring to the British overseas territory following their 3-2 win over Egypt in the round of 16.
FIFA has previous form for sanctioning Argentina over political declarations relating to the Falklands. In 2014, they imposed a ยฃ20,000 fine on the nation’s football association after their players displayed a comparable banner ahead of a friendly against Slovenia.
Meanwhile, Spanish players Alvaro Morata and Rodri were banned for one game by FIFA after they chanted “Gibraltar is Spanish” during their side’s Euro 2024 celebrations.
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