Argentina’s ‘childish’ banner stunt sullied a great victory, says Falklands veteran | World | News
Falklands War hero Simon Weston has branded Argentina’s players “childish” and “petulant” after they displayed a provocative banner following their World Cup semi-final victory over England. The former Welsh Guardsman, who suffered horrific burns during the 1982 conflict, said the demonstration overshadowed what many commentators hailed as an excellent sporting contest.
Mr Weston told the Daily Express: “It was an unnecessary moment which sullied a famous victory for Argentina. If you listen to every commentator after the game — and as you rightly say, as a Welshman I wasn’t over-invested in it — by all accounts it was a very good game.”
He added: “I don’t know why people have to be so childish. I’ve never seen a banner, or a dirty bedsheet with somebody’s garage paint spilt on it, change ever-changing global events… It just seemed like a petulant moment that totally ruined a spectacular tournament.”
The banner, held aloft by jubilant Argentina players and fans following the 2-1 victory in Atlanta, declared: “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (“The Falkland Islands are Argentinian”). It has prompted widespread condemnation and calls for FIFA to investigate an apparent breach of tournament rules prohibiting political messages.
Downing Street has backed Business Secretary Peter Kyle’s demand for a “thorough” probe. A No 10 spokeswoman said: “The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are. Our position is unchanged. Self-determination rests with the islanders. Our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.”
Mr Weston dismissed any notion that the gesture could advance Argentina’s territorial claim. He said: “If you can tell me what that banner did to serve their cause positively, then I’ll quite happily listen to it. But all it’s done is create greater animosity and a greater entrenchment of the feeling among people in Britain who believe the islands should remain with the islanders.”
Discussing the players’ youth, Mr Weston said: “None of the current Argentine team were even born 44 years ago. Yet they had an Olympic hockey captain doing exercises on British war memorials in the Falklands. How disrespectful. It’s immature and it’s disrespectful.
“If that is the kind of behaviour the islanders could expect if they were ever to become Argentinian, their fears and instabilities would be fully realised. They would be dealing with a nation that largely wouldn’t give a damn about what they felt or how their actions impacted their lives.”
Mr Weston also criticised ill-informed commentary from some left-wing voices, saying: “That is the case for a lot of the rhetoric around the Falkland Islands by a lot of people who don’t know the history, or only think they do… The Falklands have never been Argentinian. That’s just the way it is.”
He insisted the core issue remains the islanders’ right to self-determination, adding: “Their choice of democracy, of governance, of freedom — it’s theirs to choose, not for other people to enforce… It was always about freedom and the right to self-determination.
“When you take those things away, then you have a dictatorship. We keep getting accused of imperialism, but enforcing this on the islanders is someone else’s form of imperialism. Before people start uttering their nonsense, they need to take stock and understand what they are saying. If you have a positive, honest, and balanced approach to it, brilliant. But until then, shut the hell up.”
The Falkland Islanders are a distinct people who look to Britain for protection while maintaining their own identity, Mr Weston added. They have their own currency — the Falkland Islands pound — and voluntarily contribute towards the cost of the British military presence. He noted: “The islanders have made their choice. We aren’t enforcing anything on them.”
In the 2013 referendum, residents voted overwhelmingly to remain a British Overseas Territory, a result Argentina continues to reject. Tensions have been further inflamed by a fresh Argentine diplomatic protest over a routine Royal Navy logistics visit by HMS Medway.
Vice-President Victoria Villarruel labelled England “invaders” ahead of the match and posted victory messages referencing the conflict. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for players involved in the banner incident to be suspended from the final, while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch stated: “The Falkland Islands are British. The Conservatives will always defend them.”
Mr Weston suggested any FIFA sanction, such as a £100,000 fine, would mean little to the multimillionaire players, noting: “That is just Lionel Messi’s wages for a single day… Do they care about the Falkland Islanders? Not a jot.”
Mr Weston concluded that the demonstration detracted from the football match and showed disrespect to those who served in the 1982 conflict.
Argentina claims it inherited the islands from Spain in the 1800s. Britain established a settlement there long before and never relinquished sovereignty. It has continuously inhabited and administered the islands since 1833.
Britain lost 255 British troops during the ten week conflict before Argentina’s troops surrendered on June 14, 1982.
