Argentina’s soccer team has sparked controversy by displaying a banner that reads ‘Las Malvinas Son Argentinas’ (‘The Falklands are Argentine’) after their 2-1 World Cup semi-final victory over England.

The move appears to contravene FIFA’s Stadium Code of Conduct, which prohibits ‘banners, flags, flyers, apparel and other paraphernalia that are of a political, offensive, and/or discriminatory nature’ inside stadiums.

Background

The question of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, known to the British as the Falklands and to the Argentines as the Malvinas, has been a long-running point of contention between the two countries. Argentina claims it inherited the islands from Spain after its independence in 1816, while Britain took control in 1833.

The dispute led to a short conflict in 1982, resulting in the deaths of 649 Argentine soldiers and 255 British combatants. The majority of the island’s residents have expressed a desire to remain part of Britain.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.