World football organizing body FIFA announced on Wednesday that it’ll be opening disciplinary proceedings against the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and a number of Albiceleste players following the display of a flag with the message “Las Malvinas son argentinas” (The Malvinas are Argentine) after their win vs England in the 2026 World Cup.
In the statement, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee noted Argentina is under investigation “for potential breaches” of articles 13, 14, 15 and 17 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. Said articles legislate the use of sports “for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature,” team misconduct, discrimination,racist abuse, order and security at matches.
According the world football’s governing body, it opens the investigation “in light of discriminatory chants and gestures, late kick-offs, failure to comply with match and security protocols,” as well as the “display of inappropriate messages by the team and spectators’’ and the “throwing of objects by spectators in relation to several matches of the representative team of Argentina at the FIFA World Cup 2026.”
In the same communiqué, FIFA announced individual investigations for breaking article 14 on grounds of assault and unsporting behavior on Albiceleste players Leandro Paredes, Nahuel Molina, Thiago Almada and coach Roberto Ayala, likely related to the incidents after Spain’s win in the World Cup final. Spanish player Pablo Martín Páez Gavira, better known as Gavi, is also under investigation.
FIFA said that all those involved have already been notified and will have the opportunity to present their defense before the Disciplinary Committee issues a final decision on each case.
The AFA faces sanctions ranging from warnings and economic fines to the suspension of the national team and Argentine representatives in international competitions, while the players could be sanctioned with game bans, fines and even the possibility of extended period bans, although the last one is the least likely.
What happened with the Malvinas flag at the 2026 World Cup?
After coming back from 1-0 down in the semifinal matchup against England, Argentina players celebrated with a “The Malvinas are Argentine” flag.
The players later confirmed that they didn’t produce the flag, but that someone in the stands threw it onto the pitch. Later, versions of the flag painted on a hotel sheet by a fan and smuggled onto the pitch went viral.
Flags such as the one picked up by the players were confirmed as banned by Argentine Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva ahead of the game, as are all signs or flags with “any kind of provocative message, whether political, racial, or otherwise.”
The flag caused a big stir in the United Kingdom and worldwide, with the UK’s Business Secretary Peter Kyle calling the display “an egregious violation of the rules of not having political activity as part of the football” while talking to the BBC, adding that he expects “FIFA to do its investigation thoroughly.”
He was backed by the UK’s outgoing Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who told The Guardian that “the World Cup might not be [England’s], but the Falkland Islands definitely are.”
Editorial disclaimer: Although the UK refers to the territory as the “Falkland Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald uses “Malvinas” to refer to the islands.
