Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office in Downing Street has backed Business Secretary Peter Kyle’s criticism after Argentina supporters displayed a flag during the World Cup semi-final.
Kyle brands the flag display a FIFA breach
Kyle said the moment amounted to an “egregious violation” of FIFA regulations, which prohibit political symbols on the field of play.
Downing Street also weighed in, with a spokesperson remarking that while the World Cup “might not be ours,” the Falkland Islands “definitely are.”
Kyle urged FIFA to carry out a “thorough” review of the incident following the match in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Speaking on BBC television, he added: “Politics needs to be separate from football. In fact, the World Cup has one of its central tenets that politics is separate from football.”
He continued: “That is now a matter for FIFA … We expect FIFA to undertake an investigation into this.”
FIFA has not yet issued a statement on the incident.
Long-running Falklands dispute resurfaces
The comments come amid renewed attention on the Falklands/Malvinas dispute, which has political and historical roots stretching back decades.
- Argentina launched an invasion of the British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic in 1982.
- Britain had occupied the islands in the 19th century, but Argentina argues the territory belongs to it.
- Britain later regained control of the archipelago after a short war, following then prime minister Margaret Thatcher sending a naval taskforce.
- The 1982 conflict ended with the deaths of 649 Argentines and 255 Britons.
Argentina defends the gesture and escalates rhetoric
Argentina’s leadership pushed back on the UK criticism, with President Javier Milei describing the flag display as “perfectly valid and legitimate.”
Speaking to El Observador radio, Milei said it reflected “a feeling that exists within all Argentines,” while also warning against blending politics with sport.
“A football match is a football match,” he said, before adding: “The Malvinas are Argentine, we’re going to recover them, and we will do it through diplomatic means.”
Argentina’s vice president, Victoria Villarruel, further ratcheted up tensions ahead of Wednesday’s kick-off by calling the English “usurping pirates.”
Protest over a Royal Navy vessel linked to the islands
In a separate escalation connected to the Falklands, Argentina said it had raised concerns about a British warship near the islands following its semi-final win.
- After Argentina’s World Cup semi-final victory, the country’s foreign minister said Buenos Aires had lodged a formal protest regarding a British warship close to the Falkland Islands.
- Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno posted on X that there was the “strongest rejection” of the United Kingdom’s HMS Medway.
- Quirno described the ship’s passage as “unconsulted and illegal,” alleging it lacked proper notification.
- He said the Medway, which is based in the Falkland Islands, was accused of breaching bilateral understandings in a diplomatic note dated July 13.
- The protest note, Quirno added, was submitted to the UK embassy in Buenos Aires.
