Kemi Badenoch supports FIFA investigation after Argentina's Falklands banner

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said the Falkland Islands are "British". She accused Argentina of using football for political reasons after its players showed a banner claiming the territory following their World Cup semi-final win over England.

Badenoch's comments came as FIFA confirmed its independent disciplinary committee is looking into match reports and the situation to see if Argentina broke its rules against political messages during games.

The UK government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, supports calls for an investigation. They stated the status of the Falklands is not open for discussion.

Downing Street said, "The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are." Business Minister Peter Kyle called the banner display "an egregious violation" of FIFA rules and said, "Politics needs to be separate from football."

In a video posted on X on Friday, Badenoch said, "The Falkland Islands are British. The Conservatives will always defend them. We know that political messaging and slogans are banned by FIFA, so they absolutely should investigate. It was a very silly banner.

"The fact is the Falkland Islands are British and the Conservatives will never stop defending the Falklands. We did it before and we’d do it again."

Argentina’s players displayed a banner reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" (The Falklands are Argentine) after beating England 2-1 in Atlanta. This has reignited the long-standing dispute between Britain and Argentina over the islands.

The Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, have been at the center of competing claims for many years. The dispute led to the 1982 Falklands War, where 649 Argentines, 255 British servicemen, and three islanders lost their lives.

FIFA has punished Argentina for a similar situation in the past. In 2014, the Argentine Football Association was fined after the national team showed the same banner before a friendly match against Slovenia. FIFA said that act violated its rules on political messages.

Badenoch also took the chance to criticize the Labour government for its agreement on the Chagos Islands. She said the Conservatives would never handle the Falklands the same way.

She stated, "Unlike Labour who gave away British territory in the Chagos Island, we will never do that. That match was a great game watching our players, but very painful to watch.

"I have a nine-year-old who was utterly bereft at the loss, winning for so long and only to lose at the end.

"Winning a football match, I would say to Argentinians does not mean you can have the Falklands, so hands off."

Badenoch's remarks refer to the UK’s agreement to transfer legal sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius while keeping UK and US military access to Diego Garcia under a long-term lease.

This agreement was announced in principle in 2024 after years of international legal and diplomatic pressure about Britain's control of the islands.

Whether Britain "gave away" the Chagos Islands depends on who you ask. Critics, including Badenoch, say the agreement is giving up British territory. Supporters say it is a deal that protects UK and allied security interests by keeping the important Diego Garcia military base while resolving the long-standing issue over sovereignty.

Meanwhile, everyone is waiting for FIFA's decision.

Also, AFP reported that Argentina’s President Javier Milei called the display "perfectly valid and legitimate."

He told El Observador radio station, "It’s a feeling that exists within all Argentines. The Malvinas are Argentine, we’re going to recover them, and we will do it through diplomatic means."

Argentina’s vice president, Victoria Villarruel, increased tensions before Wednesday's match by calling the English "usurping pirates."

After the World Cup match, Argentina’s Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said Buenos Aires had filed a formal protest over a British warship near the Falkland Islands.

Quirno expressed on X his "strongest rejection" of Britain’s HMS Medway’s "unconsulted and illegal" passage through Argentine waters.