The British government has urged FIFA to investigate Argentina’s team after players posed with a banner claiming sovereignty over the contested Falkland Islands.

The incident happened after Argentina beat England 2-1 in a World Cup semi-final on Wednesday (local time) in Atlanta.

During post-match celebrations, Argentine players held a banner handed over by fans in the stands, reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” — “The Malvinas are Argentine”.

Argentina fans hold up the controversial banner. Photo: AAP

Argentina refers to the Falkland Islands as Islas Malvinas. In 1982, they were invaded under orders from Argentina’s then-military dictatorship, triggering a 10-week war won by Britain.

“The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are,” a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday.

“Self-determination rests with the islanders and our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.”

Starmer supported calls for FIFA to investigate, the spokesperson added, after UK Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the players’ behaviour was “entirely inappropriate”.

“The World Cup has one of its central tenets that politics is separate from football. That is now a matter for FIFA,” Kyle said.

FIFA can prosecute Argentina’s players and soccer federation because their disciplinary code prohibits at stadiums any “message that is not appropriate for a sports event”. They include those of “a political, ideological, religious or offensive nature”.

FIFA fines for political messaging can range from $7100-$29,000.

Soccer’s world governing body has not yet commented on the incident.

A FIFA disciplinary case under previous leadership banned a South Korea player for two 2014 World Cup qualifying games because he held up a similar banner about a territorial claim against Japan at the 2012 London Olympics.

Park Jong-woo took a fan banner with the slogan “Dokdo is our territory” after South Korea beat Japan in the men’s bronze-medal game.

On Wednesday, Argentina player Lisandro Martínez was asked if the banner could have stirred deep emotions and tears for a veteran of the Malvinas conflict.

“We couldn’t let the Argentine people down” said Martínez, who has played in England for four years with Manchester United.

Another player, Leandro Paredes, said in Atlanta of the banner: “It is a sad part of our history.”

“For everyone involved in that chapter of, I repeat, our history. And it hurts. We knew we were playing for them, too,” he said.

Argentinian Vice President Victoria Villarruel wrote on X before the game: “We play against the usurping pirates.

“I’m not going to be politically correct or cold-hearted; against the English, it’s always something more.”

And she tweeted a victory message at full time saying, “it wasn’t just another match”, alongside a video of what appeared to be Argentinian soldiers.

Villarruel’s father fought in the Falklands War for Argentina’s military dictatorship.

The King said Thursday might be “a good day to drown a few sorrows”. Photo: AAP

King sips amber ale after loss

The King has “drowned a few sorrows” after England’s dramatic World Cup exit with a pint he pulled with the Queen as they toured a brewery.

The monarch sipped an amber ale made by Hall & Woodhouse Badger Brewery the day after England captain Harry Kane and his teammates lost their semi-final match 2-1 to Argentina.

Aided by the Queen, he poured a pint of Fursty Ferret, a best seller for the family-owned brewery in the Dorset town of Blandford.

“Maybe it’s a good day to drown a few sorrows,” the King said with a wry smile before taking a sip of the popular ale.

England is reeling the day after the last-gasp defeat for manager Thomas Tuchel’s players, with many fans likely to be nursing post-match hangovers despite the loss.

The King and Queen toured the brewery, which celebrates its 250th anniversary next year, meeting brewing and chef apprentices, and watched as the trainee cooks competed in a MasterChef-style competition.

At one point the King chatted to brewery finance director Paul Barnett about the effect of the World Cup on the business, which has predominately food-led pubs that do not have screens or show the soccer.

“I’m quite relieved we’re out of the football because we don’t make so much money,” Barnett said.