FIFA may punish Argentina for Falkland Islands banner ahead of Sunday's World Cup Final

[ASFN Admin]

After defeating England in Wednesday's World Cup semifinal match, some of Argentina's players on the field dove into political discourse by unfurling a banner asserting that the "Malvinas are Argentine," when translated. It is a reference to the Falklands War from 1982 and a long-standing conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

It is this exact statement that may put Argentina in hot water with FIFA, the organization behind the World Cup.

According to The Athletic's Dan Sheldon, displaying this banner breaks a rule about political flags, slogans, and symbols being showcased for FIFA and the International Football Association Board (IFAB), soccer's lawmakers. While any punishment would be pending review following official match reports, the door is open for a potential sanction on Argentina.

More from The Athletic:

At the time of this writing, it is unclear precisely what Argentina's punishment would be, if any. A safe assumption is that it likely wouldn't affect Sunday's World Cup Final against Spain, given the short turnaround, but we will have to see about a timeline as this situation unfolds.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: FIFA may punish Argentina for Falkland Islands banner ahead of Sunday's World Cup Final

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