The British government has called on FIFA to investigate after Argentina's players displayed a banner proclaiming "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" ("The Falklands are Argentine") following their 2-1 World Cup semi-final victory over England.
The banner was held aloft by Argentina's players on the pitch after Wednesday's match in Atlanta, reigniting the long-running sovereignty dispute between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas.
UK Business Minister Peter Kyle described the display as a breach of FIFA's rules prohibiting political messages during football matches and urged the sport's governing body to investigate the incident.
"Politics needs to be separate from football. The World Cup has, as one of its central principles, that politics is separate from football. We expect FIFA to undertake an investigation into this," Kyle said in an interview with the BBC.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office backed the call, with a Downing Street spokesperson reaffirming the UK's position on the disputed territory.
"The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are," the spokesperson said.
FIFA had not publicly commented on the incident at the time of reporting.
The Falkland Islands have remained a source of tension between the two countries since the 1982 conflict, when Argentina invaded the South Atlantic archipelago before British forces retook the territory following a 10-week war. The conflict claimed the lives of 649 Argentine and 255 British personnel.
Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over the islands, despite the United Kingdom maintaining control of the territory.
Argentine President Javier Milei defended the players' actions, describing the banner as a legitimate expression of national sentiment.
"It is a feeling shared by all Argentines," Milei said in an interview with El Observador radio. However, he also cautioned against mixing politics with sport, saying, "A football match is a football match."
Milei reiterated Argentina's position that it intends to pursue its claim to the islands through diplomatic means.
The dispute was further inflamed ahead of the semi-final after Argentine Vice President Victoria Villarruel referred to the British as "usurping pirates" in comments about the islands.
Meanwhile, Argentina's Foreign Ministry confirmed it had lodged a formal diplomatic protest with the United Kingdom over the passage of the British naval vessel HMS Medway near the Falkland Islands.
Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said the government had expressed its "strongest rejection" of what it described as the vessel's unauthorised transit through Argentine territorial waters, alleging the movement breached bilateral agreements.
The latest developments highlight how the decades-old territorial dispute continues to cast a shadow over relations between the two countries, even during major international sporting events.