Argentina team hold up controversial Falklands banner again as anti-English chants erupt | Football | Sport
Tigres players held up a banner about the Falkland Islands after beating Nacional (Image: X (TWITTER))
A football team in Argentina pulled off another Falkland Islands stunt after winning a Copa Sudamericana playoff on Tuesday night. Tigre, based in Buenos Aires, secured a commanding 3-0 victory over Uruguayan side Nacional, ensuring they will take a healthy advantage into the second leg. After the final whistle, their players celebrated by unfurling a similar banner to the one held up by Argentina’s national team following their World Cup semi-final triumph over England.
The banner carried exactly the same message, reading: “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, which translates as: “The Falklands are Argentine”. It was proudly held up as Tigres players celebrated with their fans while chanting: “He who doesn’t jump is an Englishman”. The chant has been popular among football fans in Argentina since their defeat in the Falklands War over four decades ago.
Before the match, Tigres players posed for an official team photo alongside another banner thanking the Argentina national team for their World Cup efforts. It read: “Champions are those who never give up. Thank you, national team.”
The sovereignty of the Falkland Islands emerged as a major talking point following England’s defeat to Argentina in the semi-finals.
The two countries famously went to war in 1982, when Argentina launched a surprise invasion in an attempt to take over the islands.
They were quickly defeated by British forces, who successfully recaptured the islands in just 10 weeks and forced Argentina to surrender.
Many people in Argentina still believe they are entitled to the Falklands despite its population being overwhelmingly in favour of remaining under British control.
Only three people voted in favour of cutting ties with Britain in a 2013 referendum, while over 1,500 residents said they wanted to maintain the status quo. Argentina rejected the result of the referendum at the time, describing it as a ‘parody’.
The government of the Falkland Islands released a statement after the World Cup semi-final, admitting they were “not surprised” by the behaviour of the Argentina players.
Argentina’s national team held up a similar banner after beating England (Image: Getty)
They said: “The Falklands government is disappointed, though regrettably not surprised, that the Argentine football team decided to tarnish the result of last night’s World Cup football semi-final, a game that did not in any case involve the Falkland Islands.
“That said, it is hardly news to anyone that the people of the islands were victims of an aggressive invasion in 1982, which left many traumatised.
“The banner displayed by Argentina last night, therefore, was particularly insensitive for many people in the Falklands.
“We hope FIFA will make good on their promise to keep politics out of sport, and sanction all behaviour of this nature in line with its own rules.”
Argentina are yet to be punished by the governing body despite FIFA rules stating that any team displaying political messages will be sanctioned.
The stadium code of conduct for the World Cup prohibited “any materials, including but not limited to banners, flags, flyers, apparel and other paraphernalia, that are of a political, offensive and/or discriminatory nature.”
That included “wording, symbols or any other attributes aimed at discrimination of any kind against a country, private person or group on account of […] political opinion or any other opinion.”
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