Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982 over British overseas territory.
Published July 16, 2026
A British minister has called for FIFA to investigate after Argentina’s players held up a banner reading “Argentina, son of Las Malvinas” (Falkland Islanders are Argentine) after Argentina’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final victory over England.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Downing Street office backed Business Secretary Peter Kyle’s call on Thursday, the day after the semi-final.
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Kyle criticized flag waving as a “gross breach” of FIFA rules banning political symbols on the field.
“The World Cup may not be ours, but the Falkland Islands most certainly is,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Argentina invaded British Overseas Territories in the South Atlantic in 1982.
However, Britain regained the islands in a short war after then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sent in a naval force.
Kyle has called on soccer’s world governing body to “thoroughly” investigate the banner-banning incident after Wednesday’s match in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Politics needs to be separated from football. Indeed, one of the central tenets of the World Cup is that politics is separated from football,” he told BBC television.
“It is now a matter for FIFA. … We expect FIFA to launch an investigation into this matter,” he added.
FIFA has not yet commented on the incident.
Britain occupied the Falkland Islands in the 19th century, but Argentina claims the islands are part of its territory.
Argentina’s Vice President Victoria Villaruel heightened tensions before Wednesday’s kick-off, calling Britain “usurping pirates.”
The 1982 conflict ended with the deaths of 649 Argentinians and 255 British nationals.
After the World Cup semi-final victory, Argentina’s foreign minister said Buenos Aires had lodged a formal protest against British warships near the Falkland Islands.
In a post on X, Pablo Kirno expressed his “strongest rejection” of the “unconsulted and illegal” passage of the British battleship Medway through Argentine territorial waters, citing the lack of proper notification.
Kirno said Falkland Islands-based Medway was accused of breaching bilateral agreements in a diplomatic note of protest submitted to the British embassy in Buenos Aires dated Monday.
