In Buenos Aires, Argentines back World Cup players over banner

NEW YORK/BUENOS AIRES, July 16 : Locals in Buenos Aires voiced support on Thursday for Argentine World Cup players who held up a banner asserting sovereignty over the Falkland Islands after their semi-final victory over England, even as Britain urged FIFA to investigate the incident.

Some players brandished a banner declaring "Las Malvinas Son Argentinas" ("The Falklands are Argentine") ​after their 2-1 victory over England in Atlanta.

A Reuters photograph showed the white, homemade-looking banner initially waved by fans celebrating in the stadium's front row. According to Argentine newspaper Clarin, midfielder Giovani Lo Celso approached the supporters and asked to borrow it.

Later photos showed him holding it up with centre-back Lisandro Martinez, while the players were singing and celebrating, facing their fans. It can later be seen lying on the grass.

FIFA's Stadium Code of Conduct bans "banners, flags, flyers, apparel and other paraphernalia that are of a political, offensive, and/or discriminatory nature" inside stadiums.

It had not issued any public sanction as of Thursday and declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Similar actions in the past by footballers have led to fines or match bans.

British business minister Peter Kyle ​told BBC Radio on Thursday that the incident must be formally investigated, stressing that politics must be ⁠kept separate from the World Cup.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, in a public letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, said the act "directly insulted the people of the islands" and called for the players to be disqualified from participating in Sunday's final.

The question of sovereignty over the South Atlantic British overseas territory, known ​to the British as the Falklands