Minutes after beating England 2-1 in the World Cup semifinal, a group of Argentine players displayed a banner with a political message. The blanket, held by Giovani Lo Celso, Nicolás Otamendi and other footballers, read: “The Malvinas are Argentine.” Meanwhile, the rest of the team celebrated with fans at Atlanta Stadium.
The Minister of Security of Argentina, Alejandra Monteoliva, had warned before the match that fans would not be able to bring in flags or banners alluding to the islands. He cited FIFA’s code of conduct, which prohibits politically divisive content. His statements generated criticism on social networks in Buenos Aires.
England has maintained control of the Malvinas since the 1982 conflict. Argentina claims sovereignty of the South Atlantic archipelago, which it considers a fundamental part of its national identity. The United Kingdom maintains that the inhabitants of the islands prefer to maintain the status quo.
Scaloni asks to separate football and politics
A day before, Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni had asked the press and fans not to link the match with the territorial dispute.
“It’s a football game. What can we do with everything that happened years ago? It’s useless, it’s sad. A lot has been suffered and it’s crazy. I’m not here to add more gasoline to the fire. Everything else was a very sad story to remove. We have memory and we remember it.”
