The Argentine players who displayed a banner in relation to the Malvinas will be sanctioned by FIFA after the display of political themes is prohibited

This past Wednesday, Argentina and England played in the World Cup semifinals. The match was expected to be very tense, due to the historical rivalry between both national teams. This rivalry stems from the Falklands War, which took place around the 1980s, and pitted the British against the Argentine people for the conquest of an island, which ended up in British hands, leaving hundreds dead and a rivalry that is still latent today.

The match ended with Argentina's victory, and during the celebration of the triumph, some players displayed a banner that read that the Falklands were Argentine. Before the match, FIFA had prohibited banners, flags, or anything related to the topic from entering the stadium, which is why it has caused so much controversy. Therefore, FIFA will open a file on the players who displayed and paraded with the banner in favor of the Falkland Islands after the victory against the English.

The regulations are strict and they will enforce them; now everything is in the hands of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, which will determine the punishment. However, it will not arrive until the World Cup ends, so those involved will be able to play in the final on Sunday against Spain without problems. According to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Regulations, it expressly prohibits the display of political messages or slogans by players and other members of the national teams, during matches and also at their conclusion, as was the case with Argentina's banner about the Falkland Islands after eliminating England.

The same regulations also add that "they will also be prohibited from displaying commercial messages or slogans in any language or form during their participation in official activities organized by FIFA, including official matches and training sessions, as well as official press conferences and activities in the mixed zone." It also indicates that each participating federation will be responsible for the conduct of the members of its delegation and that in the World Cup, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee maintains its competence to prosecute disciplinary infractions ex officio.

After all this, this Thursday, the British Government said it expected FIFA to open an investigation. The British Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, stated that the gesture of the footballers "was totally inappropriate" and stressed that "politics must be kept out of football." "I hope FIFA conducts a thorough investigation," Kyle declared.

In our Spanish national team, there are also precedents for this type of issue. And it is that Rodri and Álvaro Morata were sanctioned with a one-match suspension for shouting, "Gibraltar Spanish," in the celebrations after winning the Euro 2024 title, also against the English national team.