​Argentina’s vice president launched a scathing attack on England on the eve of the two nations’ monumental FIFA World Cup semifinal, deploying the phrase ‘usurping pirates’ in a social media post referencing the history surrounding the Falklands War.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe turbulent history between the two countries and the Falklands War has featured prominently in the build-up to Wednesday’s game in Georgia, with Victoria Villaruel, the country’s VP and daughter of a Falklands veteran, firmly in the spotlight.Her broadside on social media has sparked considerable controversy, particularly in light of comments from Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, who stated it would be ‘quite wrong’ to make the game about the war, via The Mirror.Who is the referee for the Spain vs France FIFA World Cup semifinal?Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni has attempted to distance the game from any Falklands-based hostilities -Credit:Erick W. Rasco, Sports Illustrated via Getty ImagesVillaruel posted on her X account: “Tomorrow we play against the usurping pirates. This isn’t just another match. I’m not going to be politically correct or cold-hearted; against the English, it’s always something more. It’s the Malvinas, it’s Diego, it’s Leo’s [Messi] last one, go Argentina! Because until our last breath, we’re going to claim what’s ours!”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMore than 900 lives were lost during the 1982 conflict, and Argentina supporters have sung about the Falklands throughout the tournament.However, Scaloni has sought to defuse tensions by maintaining that mixing the conflict with the match would be disrespectful. He stated: “It’s a football match; I can’t mix things up, out of respect for what happened so many years ago.”It was a very sad time in our history, and there isn’t much we can do about it. Mixing the two would be madness. We criticize that there was war.To listen to the latest episode of ‘All Out Soccer’ – CLICK HERE”Of course, people remember history and what happened. It is a game of football, we need to keep things separate.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”Yes, we remember Argentinian people and people that were lost in the war, but let’s not conflate things.”What do the players of today have to do with many, many years ago?”It was a sad time, we remember this, of course, but it would be quite wrong to put this into the game.”