‘Malvinas are Argentinian’: World Cup holders celebrate win over England with Falklands banner

The Argentina players celebrated their World Cup win over England with a banner saying “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, making reference to the 1982 Falklands War.Argentina were 1-0 down with five minutes to go of the semi-final in Atlanta but rallied and scored twice in quick succession to reach a second straight World Cup final, where they will face Spain in New Jersey on Sunday.The banner refers to the dispute over the territory, which is referred to as the Falkland Islands in Britain and Islas Malvinas in Argentina, which led to a 74-day conflict 44 years ago. More than 900 people – 649 Argentinians and 255 Britons – lost their lives in the conflict.Lisandro Martínez and Giovani Lo Celso held up the banner, grinning, and waved to fans in the stands. It was unclear where the banner had come from.It is ​not the first ​time the question of ​political banners has come up ­during the World Cup. ​Last month ‌in Los Angeles, ​Iranian Americans ​waved pre-revolutionary flags that are symbols of protest against the Tehran government when Iran played. Those matches proceeded without incident.After beating Switzerland in the quarter-final to set up a meeting against England, some Argentina players could be heard chanting: “For the Malvinas, for Diego [Maradona] and for Leo [Messi]’s last one.”The banner is seen on the pitch later. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty ImagesThe Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul said: “We understand it’s a football game that transcends; it brings back memories of what Diego did. We sing songs about our Malvinas heroes, mainly to remember them, but we have to understand that it’s a football match and that the Malvinas have to be discussed elsewhere. What happened was an atrocity and we always remember the fallen, but what we want is to win this match to get to the final.”Fifa’s stadium code of conduct bans “banners, flags, flyers, apparel and other paraphernalia that are of a political, offensive, and/or discriminatory nature” inside stadiums. Fifa did not immediately reply to a request for comment.Argentina’s security minister, Alejandra Monteoliva, said on Tuesday that ‌enhanced security had been discussed at a meeting in the US on Monday. “There will be 1,600 officers. We want the celebration to be peaceful,” she told local radio in Argentina. “The entry of elements that have any type of provocative message, whether of political or racial content, is prohibited.”