Will Argentina be punished for their Falklands stunt?

**Jon** (0:02)
This is a Global Production.

**Emily Maitlis** (0:05)
As the Argentinian players hold up a huge Malvinas banner on the pitch, we're just waiting to see what FIFA actually does.

**Jon** (0:14)
That is just against the rules, and yet from FIFA, crickets.

**Emily Maitlis** (0:19)
It's so public. It's not like what decision was a ref making, or was there a sleight of hand, or was there somebody who had been miss fouled, or was a judgement sort of unclear. This is literally been broadcast around the world.

**Jon** (0:33)
Look, who else was holding the banner last night? It's Lionel Messi. Is Gianni Infantino going to ban Lionel Messi from playing in the World Cup final on Sunday in New Jersey?

**Emily Maitlis** (0:53)
Look, we know how many of you will be feeling. We know how many England fans will be feeling after the defeat of last night. You probably weren't looking at the screen. You probably weren't looking at the pitch at that moment. But if you were, you would have seen some fairly extraordinary scenes of a banner being unfurled and held up, held aloft by the Argentinian players, a banner that claims to want to retake Las Malvinas, the Falklands.

**Jon** (1:23)
And that is in stark contravention of FIFA rules about political symbols being used at sporting events. So the question is, is FIFA going to do anything about it or just turn a willing blind eye? Welcome to The News Agents.
The News Agents It's Jon.

**Emily Maitlis** (1:48)
It's Maitlis.

**Jon** (1:49)
And I suppose we need to say from the outset, we're not engaging in sour grapes, although I feel pretty bloody sour about the way we lost last night.
People can do that on other shows and other podcasts and the like. But it was really fascinating. The extent to which FIFA have gone to make sure that politics does not enter this World Cup and they have screened the flags that England fans have put out to make sure there is nothing that would kind of upset their rules.
And yet, last night, as you say, Emily, there were a number of players and a number of whom play in England. I mean, Lisandro Martinez from Manchester United was one of those holding up a banner. Giovanni Lo Celso, who used to play for Spurs until a couple of years ago, was the one who went to fetch it from the crowd. QT Romero, the central defender for Tottenham, who's probably going to be transferred this season, but he's still on the books at Tottenham Hotspur, was also holding up that banner saying take back the Falkland Islands for the Argentinians. And that is just against the rules. And yet from FIFA, crickets. Nothing.

**Emily Maitlis** (2:57)
So far, as we record at 10 to 1 on Thursday, we have not yet heard from FIFA. Just to take you through the actions, what happened was that the banner clearly belonged to fans, it was thrown onto the pitch, and then, as you say, Lo Celso went towards it. And then the other players kind of followed him into it, and they ended up holding up the banner, which says Las Malvinas son Argentinas, the Falklands are Argentinian, and they held it back up to the fans for the cheers. And if you want to know a bit of the background of the Falklands war, I suggest you catch up with our episode on Tuesday, where we go into the rivalry really between our two countries both on and off the pitch, but that 10-week war in 1982 left very deep feelings in both countries.
It was ultimately won by Britain, by the UK, but there has been a residual sense in Argentina that those islands, which are clearly much closer to Argentina than to Britain, are part of the Argentinian cultural, national, geographical, geopolitical state, and it has become part of, if you like, the legend of football, the legend of a football win, that you will say you will take back the islands for the country. It's the way patriotism of football becomes so closely entwined in talking about these islands. And so clearly there was sort of fervour and there was delight from the players on the pitch and their fans. And yeah, we want to reiterate this is not about the loss itself, but it is about putting it in the context of what would normally happen on these occasions. And I think it is worth kind of going back to a few of the examples and seeing what normally happens. I mean, I think it was last World Cup, was it two years ago when Harry Kane was going to wear the pride armour?