A Foreign Policy Researcher Analyst for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Dr. Nile Gardiner has called for Argentine players to be punished for participating in political activism in a football setting.
He made this call by stating that players in the Argentina team who play in the English Premier League and participated in raising a banner that stated, “Las Malvinas Son Argentinas”- “The Falklands are Argentine“- after Argentina beat England 2-1 in the semifinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The banner’s statement stems from the bloody history between the two nations over the Falkland Islands War in 1982 with both countries claiming sovereignty over the British occupied territory just off Argentina’s coast.
Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez and Tottenham Hotspurs’ Cristian Romero were captured celebrating with Argentina players holding the banner.
The act has drawn the ire of many observers including the Director of The Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom.
“Every Argentine player in the English Premier League who took part in this ugly anti-British display should be stripped of their UK work visa. There should be zero tolerance for this” Nile Gardiner wrote on his X page.
Every Argentine player in the English Premier League who took part in this ugly anti-British display should be stripped of their UK work visa. There should be zero tolerance for this. https://t.co/kYtMJUgISn
— Nile Gardiner (@NileGardiner) July 15, 2026
