So FIFA is going to take action against the Argentinian players for unfurling their “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” banner after beating England in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final. The act was a clear violation of the Federation’s rules about politicizing the game.
Typically, however, any fines or suspensions will come into force after the final is out of the way on Sunday – meaning the punishments will be all but pointless. Cue more wild conspiracy theories about FIFA’s closeness to Argentina, the Nazis and the Masons, and goodness knows what else.
Sane people probably realize that it’s not worth getting too het up about what a bunch of overpaid, talented but dishonorable sports stars think about the Falkland Islands, which have belonged to Britain for two centuries. But there are some interesting geopolitical subplots behind the current row.
There is a bubbling fury towards Britain for its reluctance to support the latest western misadventure in the Middle East
The North Falklands Basin is fossil-fuel rich, and the exploration of its “Sea Lion” field is about to begin, with possible production coming “on stream” as soon as early 2028. Sea Lion could, it is thought, produce up to a billion barrels of oil, which would significantly boost the economy of the Falklands, as well as making huge profits for the two companies which have invested in the project: Navitas Petroleum, an Israeli group, holds a 65 percent stake in the operations, while Rockhopper Exploration, a UK-based company (with significant Israeli interests) has 35 percent.
The Israeli government has sought to distance itself from Navitas, following complaints from its ally Argentina about the Sea Lion project. “This is a private company and not an activity in which the Government of Israel is involved in any way,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. “We regret the discomfort that this situation has caused in Argentina.”
Hmmm. That’s the same Gideon Sa’ar who provocatively celebrated Argentina’s victory against England on social media this week. “How does the song go?” he wrote. “It’s coming home. Yes, it is. It’s coming home to Argentina. Vamos Argentina!”
Sa’ar’s post reveals that, at the more hawkish end of the Israeli and American foreign policy establishments, there is a bubbling fury towards Britain for its reluctance to support the latest western misadventure in the Middle East and a gratitude towards Argentina and its president Javier Milei for having publicly supported the joint Israel-US war on Iran.
Back in April, around the time of King Charles’s visit to Washington, the Pentagon briefed out that it was reconsidering its position on Britain’s claim to sovereignty over the Falklands as a punishment for the UK’s failings as a military ally in the first month of Operation Epic Fury.
At the same time, President Milei visited Tel Aviv, where he was feted as a true friend of Israel. Milei applauded the war on Iran as a defense of Judeo-Christian values and hailed the “Isaac Accords” for fostering closer ties between Israel and Latin America.
Moreover, a week before the US Defense Department revealed its reconsideration of the Falklands question, Marc Zell, who serves as chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel and a vice president of Republicans Overseas Incorporated, had floated the idea on social media. Zell, who founded a law firm with Doug Feith, an architect of George W. Bush’s Iraq war, declared on X:
Argentina is sending naval units to assist the U.S. in safeguarding international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The UK has refused. In 1982 President Reagan came to the aid of then PM Margaret Thatcher who was defending the UK colony in the Falkland Islands, claimed by Argentina which refers to them as the Malvinas Islands. In light of the UK’s cowardly refusal to support the US in the Persian Gulf conflict, I think it only appropriate for the Trump Administration to consider reversing US policy on the Falklands and support the Argentinian claim.’
Zell was at it again yesterday. Responding to a tweet from Milei in Spanish about Argentina “getting closer every day to the recovery of the Malvinas Islands,” he posted in Hebrew: “The Malvinas are not some distant academic issue – it is a matter that burns in the heart of the Argentine people, a matter of deep national honor that they have carried with them for decades.
“True friendship is measured by how one behaves in moments that matter to one’s ally. I call on the Trump administration and Israel to support Argentina’s legitimate claim to the Malvinas/Falklands and to advance it.”
Zell signed off with “#DonroeDoctrine,” a reference to the Trump corollary to the “Monroe Doctrine,” as articulated in the latest US National Security Strategy. This emphasizes America’s right to assert its interests above outside powers in Latin America and the Western hemisphere.
Whether or not the Donroe Doctrine applies to the Falklands question is unclear and of course Zell does not represent the US government. His position does, however, reflect an influential pro-Israeli faction in Republican foreign policy thinking. It should also be pointed out that, for all Milei’s rhetorical backing, Argentina has not in fact provided naval support for the US in the Strait of Hormuz. The UK, by contrast, has, albeit in a limited fashion and there’s no doubt outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer greatly irritated the Trump administration by stalling on requests from the US air force to use British bases to launch attacks against Iran.
The Pentagon briefing in April about the Falklands was intended more as a warning shot across Britain’s diplomatic bows. Secretary of State Marco Rubio soon downplayed the leak as “just an email with some ideas.”
But it’s obvious that the Iran war has put a severe strain on the so-called “Special Relationship” between America and the UK. Israeli officials, angry at the British for failing to rally behind their Iran war effort, are clearly keen to exploit that tension. To what extent, if any, that ties into an Israeli business’s substantial interest in the Sea Lion project remains an intriguing question.
The British defense establishment, meanwhile, is also happy to highlight the potential military threat to the Falklands from Argentina as another good reason to boost spending on the Royal Navy and the UK’s armed forces. The result is that as the Argentinian football team’s stunt shows, the “Las Malvinas” issue is only becoming more prominent, not less.
This article originally appeared in Freddy Gray’s Americano newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.
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