So, it appears Argentina are not only poor losers (on the rare occasions they happen to lose) but appalling winners. After beating us in the World Cup semi-final last night, fair and square this time at least, the players then unfurled a disgraceful, lying and horribly offensive banner, which read: ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ (The Malvinas are Argentinian).
If there’s any justice, that’s exactly what the British authorities should do now: revoke the visas of any players holding that banner, dancing behind it and chanting. Their clubs should also discipline them. If I had my way, they’d never play in England again
Argentina had the chance to win with dignity. Yes, the English team self-sabotaged yet again from a winning position. It’s our way. But Argentina ruthlessly took their chance and, though it is tough to admit it, were deserving winners of the game. They could and should have taken the plaudits, and left people talking about their indomitable spirit and the brilliance of Lionel Messi. That’s what good, admirable winners do.
Yet they flunked it. Once again, Argentina lived down to our very worst expectations with their Falkands banner stunt (though, of course, they used the ‘Malvinas’ name for the Islands, which Gary Lineker stupidly aped earlier this week). Worse, quite a few of their players play in England. We pay their enormous wages. Their club supporters worship them, week in week out. And this is how they respond. This is how they thank us.
Imagine this scenario. Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice play football in Argentina’s top league, getting paid millions for the privilege. After knocking Argentina out of the World Cup semi-final, those same players then dance and chant behind a gloating banner about the Falklands being British (though in this case, the banner would be the truth, at least).
What do we think, in that implausible, unthinkable scenario, the Argentine authorities would do? I think we know the answer. We can be sure Kane, Rice and Bellingham would be run out of Argentina before you could say ‘Diego Maradona’.
If there’s any justice, that’s exactly what the British authorities should do now: revoke the visas of any players holding that banner, dancing behind it and chanting. Their clubs should also discipline them. If I had my way, they’d never play in England again.
But will any of that happen? Of course not. And I’ll tell you why I’m so certain. Because we’ve been here before. After the last Euros in 2024, in which England lost to Spain in the final, the Spanish players led chants about Gibraltar being Spanish at a victory parade. They included Manchester City’s star player Rodri, who gets paid far more in a season than the rest of us could dream of getting paid in a lifetime.
I wrote at the time that Rodri should face sanctions from Manchester City and the FA, but I also predicted that absolutely nothing would happen. I was right, sadly. In the end Rodri and his teammate Alvaro Morata were only banned for one game, by Uefa.
And nothing will happen this time either. The Argentinian players who are paid so much to ply their trade in England will return without sanction in a few weeks’ time to their Premiership clubs. They will once again be hero-worshipped by their supporters and all will be forgotten and forgiven. They are incredibly lucky that the English are such remarkably tolerant and forgiving people who often care about club more than country.
Meanwhile, the people of the Falklands, who wish for nothing more than to live their lives peacefully in their homeland, free of threat and free of Argentina’s disgraceful bullying, will see their beautiful Islands once again slavered over by a bunch of ignorant footballers.
Argentina is one of the world’s greatest footballing nations, and in Maradona and Messi, has produced two of the best footballers in history. Why can’t they settle for that? I’ve stopped thinking they ever will. Well, let me assure them of one thing: no matter what their stupid banner says, the Falklands are and always will be British.
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