​FIFA has decided not to sanction Argentina over its Falklands-related chants heard in the locker room. The defending World Cup champions were captured singing “Muchachos,” a tune that references the remote self-governing British overseas territory, in their locker room after their 3-2 Round of 16 victory over Egypt. The chants surfaced 44 years after the Falklands War, which left 907 people dead between April 2 and June 14, 1982. If England advances past Norway on Saturday and Argentina defeats Switzerland on the same day, the two historic rivals would meet in the semi-finals. The Falklands dispute, along with the accompanying chants, is likely to cast a long shadow over that potential clash. Despite apparently breaching FIFA’s strict rules against political expression in stadiums, the organization reportedly “will take no action” against Argentina, according to the Daily Mail.
The Argentine national team’s song includes the lines: “I am Argentine from cradle to grave, for the Malvinas, for Diego (Maradona), for Leo’s (Messi) final chapter,” and opens with: “I was born in Argentina, land of Diego and Lionel, and of the Malvinas lads whom I’ll never forget.” Argentinians commonly refer to the Falkland Islands as “Las Malvinas,” and the reference to a country with roughly 3,700 residents is seen as a direct allusion to the war, as noted by The Mirror. Yet FIFA will not discipline Argentina, despite its otherwise firm stance against political chants, slogans, and banners within tournament venues. Mirror Football has reached out to FIFA for a statement.
Ahead of the World Cup match, FIFA warned fans against displaying flags that are political, offensive, or discriminatory. There were confiscations, including an England flag bearing a soldier’s silhouette and a banner from Barrow supporters featuring a submarine in its design. The Barrow element is not even directly tied to Britain’s military history, given Barrow’s submarine manufacturing heritage. The move to seize England flags for political imagery while seemingly allowing Argentine supporters to go unpunished has sparked questions about consistency in FIFA’s enforcement of its own rules.
The governing body has shown it can be assertive in other World Cup scenarios as well. It famously intervened to suspend Folarin Balogun’s one-game ban for a year, allowing him to play in the United States Men’s National Team defeat to Belgium after a phone call between then-President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. FIFA maintained that an independent disciplinary panel had reached the decision, but Infantino’s high-profile involvement alongside Trump amid the pre-tournament discourse suggested a different kind of influence on the broader situation.