FIFA to probe Argentina’s Falklands banner display at World Cup semifinal

FIFA has opened an investigation into Argentinian players’ display of a political banner after their World Cup semifinal victory over England, a move that violated its stadium code of conduct and struck a nerve in the United Kingdom over political sovereignty.

Defender Lisandro Martinez and unused substitute Giovani Lo Celso held up a banner reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, meaning “The Falklands are Argentinian”, as they celebrated the win on the pitch, grinning and waving to fans in the stands after securing a dramatic comeback win on Wednesday.
The move sparked a row in the UK, where top government officials urged FIFA to investigate the matter and the global governing body confirmed it had launched a probe as a “standard procedure”.

“FIFA’s independent disciplinary committee is currently assessing the match reports and considering the relevant circumstances before deciding on potential further steps based on the FIFA disciplinary code,” a FIFA spokesperson told Al Jazeera on Thursday.

It was unclear where the banner in question had come from, but FIFA can prosecute Argentina’s players and football federation for violating its disciplinary code at stadiums, which prohibits any “message that is not appropriate for a sports event”, including those of “a political, ideological, religious or offensive nature”.

FIFA’s fines for political messaging range from about $5,000 to $20,000.

Argentina will defend their World Cup title when they take on Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday at New York New Jersey Stadium.