An Argentina fan smuggled the notorious Falklands banner into the World Cup semi-final against England by hiding it in his underpants – hours before the White House defended the players who unfurled it, citing free speech.
The supporter, identifying himself only as Santiago, said he used hotel bedsheets and a £7 pot of black paint from Home Depot to make the sign. “I folded it as much as I could, put it in my private parts to get through security checks, and in the end we managed to get in,” he told Argentinian news outlet Todo Noticias. When he saw player Montiel, he threw the banner to him; Montiel passed it to Lo Celso, who was the first to hold it up. “I felt a joy that I can’t put into words,” Santiago said, adding that he would attend Sunday’s final but had no plans to make another banner.
“Argentina fan smuggled Falklands banner in underpants; White House defends players; UK insists islands are British.”
The banner read “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” – “The Falklands are Argentine” – and sparked a diplomatic row. Downing Street hit back, with the prime minister’s spokeswoman saying: “The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are. Our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.” She backed calls for Fifa to investigate, echoing Business Secretary Peter Kyle, who said Fifa “needs to take the action that needs to happen.”
Fifa, which usually suppresses political displays, said its independent disciplinary committee was assessing match reports and considering circumstances before deciding on further steps. Argentina has previously been fined for similar banners.
Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House Fifa task force, said on Friday: “We believe in our First Amendment rights here in the United States of America. And in terms of the ability, the opportunity to be able to make statements, [Argentina] has the ability to do that in the United States of America.”
Argentine President Javier Milei declared on X that his government was “getting closer every day” to recovering sovereignty over the archipelago, mocking Britain’s reaction as “tantrums befitting a terminally mononeuronal teenager.” Argentina Vice-President Victoria Villarruel posted that “it wasn’t just another match” alongside a video of what appeared to be Argentine soldiers, adding: “The Falklands are Argentine. They banned bringing them to the stadium and forgot that we carry them in our blood and our hearts.”
The Falkland Islands government said it was “disappointed but not surprised” and hopes Fifa will “sanction all behaviour of this nature in line with its own rules.” A statement added: “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.”
In 2013, Falkland Islanders voted overwhelmingly to remain a UK overseas territory: 1,513 votes in favour, three against, on a turnout above 90%.
With Sunday’s World Cup final between Argentina and Spain approaching – and US President Donald Trump expected to attend – the banner’s fate remains unclear. The Argentina team kept it after the match, and it was not known whether it would be flown to New York or returned to the fans who made it.
