Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni made his thoughts clear about the Falklands before his team's controversial celebrations after defeating England

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni refused to mix his side’s World Cup semi-final with politics ahead of his side’s win over England. The great footballing rivalry between the two nations also brings geopolitical tensions due to the Falklands War.

The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory, which Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over. In 1982, Argentina invaded the islands, leading to a 74-day conflict that resulted in the deaths of 649 Argentine and 255 British military personnel as well as three islanders.

Four years later, politics and football intertwined as Argentina met England in the World Cup quarter-finals with Diego Maradona taking centre stage, opening the scoring with the infamous ‘Hand of God’ and deciding the game with the ‘Goal of the Century’. The World Cup rivalry was reignited in 1998 and 2002 before Argentina’s 2-1 win on Wednesday.

Despite the multiple narratives surrounding the game, Argentina boss Scaloni refused to compare a football match to the be drawn into a political discussion. The World Cup-winning coach’s comments spoke volumes as he attempted to distance his team away from references to the Falklands War and focus on reaching the World Cup final.

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"The reality is that this is a football match. I can't mix things up, especially out of respect for what happened so many years ago,” Scaloni explained ahead of the England game.

"It was a very sad period in our history, and there isn't much we can do about it, that's the reality. It is a football match. There's no getting around that.

“Things are happening elsewhere in the world, and we criticise the existence of war, so for me to start saying this is anything more than a football match... it seems crazy to me.

"We certainly remember those people, of course. But it is a football match, we shouldn't confuse the two."

However, Scaloni’s pleas were ignored by his squad after the team’s late goals to secure a 2-1 win. In the post-match celebrations, several Argentine players held a banner that read "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" which translates to "The Malvinas (Falkland Islands) belong to Argentina".

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It is not the first time during the tournament that Argentina’s players have referenced the Falklands. After their quarter-final win against Switzerland, the team was heard chanting: "For the Malvinas, for Diego [Maradona] and for Leo [Messi]'s last one."

Argentina risk being punished for celebrating with the banner after the England match due to rules regarding the display of political messages. FIFA's stadium code of conduct bans "banners, flags, flyers, apparel and other paraphernalia that are of a political, ⁠offensive, and/or discriminatory nature"

The Argentina players celebrating with the banner has prompted reaction from various political figures outside of the footballing world. Business Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC: “My reaction is that it was entirely inappropriate. Politics needs to be separate from football.

“In fact, the World Cup has one of its central tenets that politics is separate from football. That is now a matter for FIFA. I expect FIFA to do its investigation thoroughly.”

Posting a photo of the players with the banner following their 2-1 win, Argentina vice-president Victoria Villarruel wrote on X: "The Falklands are Argentine! They banned bringing them to the stadium and forgot that we carry them in our blood and our hearts."

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