Fifa will assess whether Argentina players broke rules after displaying a banner in support of their country’s claims to the Falkland Islands following their World Cup semi-final win over England.
It comes after Downing Street called for an investigation into the celebrations, which saw several Argentina players wave a banner that read “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, which translates to “The Falkland Islands are Argentinian”.
Argentina came from behind to beat England 2-1 and the defending champions will play Spain in Sunday’s final.
A Fifa spokesperson said: “As is 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.”
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) was previously fined £20,000 by Fifa in 2014 after Argentina’s players held up a banner with the same message.
The governing body said the actions, which followed a friendly win over Slovenia, had breached rules on political action and team misconduct. Argentina fans have chanted songs referencing the islands throughout this World Cup.
Article 34.3 of Fifa’s rules prohibits the display of any political messages or slogans by players before, during or after a match.
Earlier on Thursday, No 10 backed calls for an investigation into Argentina’s celebrations and echoed remarks made earlier by Business Secretary Peter Kyle, who said the governing body should “thoroughly” probe the behaviour of the defending champions.
“The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are,” a Downing Street spokesperson said. “Our position is unchanged. Self-determination rests with the islanders. Our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.”
Political tensions between Argentina and Britain over the territory have lingered for decades, after boiling over into a short but bloody war in 1982.
Buenos Aires has repeatedly claimed sovereignty over the islands, which are about 8,000 miles from the UK and 300 miles from mainland Argentina.
Falklands War veteran Simon Weston, who was injured serving in the conflict during the bombing of the RFA Sir Galahad, said the Argentina players had “cheapened” their victory with the stunt.
He told The Independent that seeing the banner waved caused him “great sadness at the lack of professionalism, the lack of maturity of the Argentine players”.
“It also made me feel very sad for the Falkland Islanders, who have made it clear who they want to govern them. It’s not for others to tell people who they should align with. That’s called freedom; it’s called democracy,” he said.
