Sanction looming? Malvinas flag v England puts AFA in FIFA's sights | OneFootball

Argentina’s historic victory over England in Atlanta left a source of concern for the national leadership. The banner reading “The Malvinas are Argentine” that the players unfurled in the middle of the celebrations filled the entire country with pride, but it violates FIFA’s strict ban on displaying political, ideological, or religious messages in its tournaments. Authorities are investigating how the banner got into the venue, given that the governing body and the security operation had expressly banned any items referring to the islands 24 hours earlier.

Because the FIFA Disciplinary Code penalizes these kinds of displays with the opening of a case file, the AFA faces sanctions ranging from a simple formal warning to heavy financial fines, both for the institution and for the players involved themselves. In principle, a sporting suspension that could jeopardize the participation of any key player in the next match is virtually ruled out, as that is reserved only for offenses considered extremely serious or for repeat violations.

There are two direct precedents for this kind of symbolic claim at World Cup tournaments:

The Switzerland case (Russia 2018): Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri, and Stephan Lichtsteiner made the double-headed eagle gesture (a symbol of Albania) while celebrating against Serbia. After Serbia’s complaint, FIFA sanctioned them with fines ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 Swiss francs.

The Egypt case (World Cup 2026): In this same edition, head coach Hossam Hassan ran onto the field with a Palestinian flag after defeating Australia in the round of 16, although the governing body has not yet announced any disciplinary action in that regard.

With the decisive clash against Spain scheduled for this Sunday at 4:00 p.m., time is on La Scaloneta’s side. It is a fact that FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee will not issue any expedited ruling before the final, so Lionel Scaloni’s side will go in pursuit of its fourth star with the full squad, postponing any financial resolution until after the end of the tournament.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.