Argentina’s celebrations after a stunning 2-1 comeback victory in the World Cup semifinal against England put them under the scanner. With the rivalry having its fair share of controversial moments, a former England star who knows what it takes to play in this fixture slammed Argentina for not acting gracefully.
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Defending champions Argentina were staring at a defeat with five minutes to go as they trailed 1-0. But a stunning goal from Enzo Fernández and a thumping Lautaro Martínez header inspired by a Lionel Messi flipped the script as they won 2-1 and punched their ticket to the final. During the celebration, the Argentine players were seen celebrating with a banner that read “Las Malvinas son Argentinas,” which is Spanish for “The Falklands are Argentine.”
Former England international Peter Reid was discussing the match and the post-match events on BBC Breakfast and expressed his view when asked if he was surprised by that behavior.
“Not really. I’ve been to Argentina many times as a coach, watching football, and I love the people; they’re great. But that’s beyond the pale for me,” he said on BBC Breakfast.
The Falkland Islands (The Malvinas in Spanish) have been the singular point of geopolitical tension between England and Argentina. The undeclared two-month war in 1982 had hundreds of casualties, and both nations strongly contest control of the territory.
Reid played in the highly controversial Argentina-England clash at the 1986 World Cup that took place just four years after the war. Argentina was charged up, as the late Diego Maradona believed the game was a chance for them to take revenge against England. Maradona scored the highly controversial “Hand of God” and the “Goal of the Century,” goals to lead them to a 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals.
Reid, a defensive midfielder who was on the pitch when Maradona punched the ball into the net, was hard done by the Argentinian’s conduct then.
“Football’s a great sport. Hold your hands up if you’ve won, but there’s no need for that. I mean, they were singing songs about the Malvinas after they beat us, and it went off in the tunnel. You win, and you lose gracefully.
“They were jumping up and down, singing about it. And obviously, we were disappointed. Hey, we got to handball against us, so imagine how we felt,” Reid recounted the events of the 1986 World Cup clash.
There were even fan clashes during the infamous game at Azteca Stadium, and forty years later, in 2026, similar incidents happened again.
With similar events unfolding even after 40 years, the former England international was disappointed that current generation players also resorted to taunting tactics.
Argentina faced a fine of £20,000 from FIFA when they displayed similar banners in 2014 during a friendly against Slovenia. The defending champions might draw a reaction from FIFA, and the sanctions before the final could put them in a dire spot.
Spearheaded by Lionel Messi, Argentina will take on Spain at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, July 19, in the World Cup final.
