Argentina's football team paraded a controversial banner reading 'Las Malvinas son Argentinas' after their 2-1 World Cup semi-final win over England
The Falkland Islands' Government has called upon FIFA to take swift action in the aftermath of Argentina bringing politics to the World Cup .
A number of the nation's players were spotted holding up a banner which read 'Las Malvinas son Argentinas' in the aftermath of their 2-1 win over England on Wednesday evening in the semi-finals of the tournament. That message translates to 'The Falklands are Argentinian' - in dispute to the sovereignty of the South Atlantic string of islands.
While Great Britain established control of the Falklands in 1833, Argentina launched an invasion of the territory in 1982. This prompted then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to send over 100 warships in a counter-offensive for control.
A 74-day war followed, resulting in the deaths of 649 Argentinian military personnel, 255 British armed forces and three Falklands civilians, with England successfully defending their territory. Argentina has continuously disputed the sovereignty, maintaining they hold legitimate ownership of the neighbouring islands.
This ultimately sparked a show of defiance from the Argentina national team on Wednesday, with players bringing political matters into football - something FIFA has long considered unacceptable. Official regulations from World Football state: "For any offence the player and/or the team will be sanctioned by the competition organiser, national football association or by FIFA."
The Falkland Islands Government has now called upon FIFA to uphold its pledges, demanding penalties against the Argentine squad for their behaviour. In an official statement to Mirror Football, they said: "The Falkland Islands 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.
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"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.
"It is the avowed policy of the Falkland Islands Government that we do not wish to see politics being brought into sport. Nor do we wish the Islands and their people to be used as a political football in every conversation about England and Argentina.
"We welcome the UK Government's supportive statement this morning. As Business Secretary Peter Kyle highlighted, the World Cup has as one of its central tenets that politics is separate from football.
"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."
This follows Kyle also advocating for similar penalties. He said: "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."
He added: "I think it was certain to happen because it was such an egregious violation of the rules of not having political activity as part of the football."
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FIFA have since released their own statement on the issue, with a spokesperson remarking: "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."
Any potential sanction is unlikely to be imposed before Sunday's World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at the MetLife Stadium, however. The kick-off for this highly anticipated showdown is set for 8pm BST.