Fifa 'assessing reports' over Falklands banner

Fifa 'assessing reports' over Falklands banner Fifa is "assessing lucifer reports" earlier deciding whether to punish Argentina after players celebrated their World Cup semi‑final triumph against England with a banner enacting their country's claims to the Falkland Islands. The defending champions produced a melodramatic comeback in Atlanta, scoring twice to defeat Thomas Tuchel's side 2‑1 and set up a showdown with Spain in Sunday's final. After the final whistle, Argentina players held up a banner reading "Las Malvinas lad Argentinas", which translates as "The Falklands are Argentine". The Falklands, a British overseas territory in the south‑west Atlantic Ocean, remain the subject of a sovereignty dispute between the UK and Argentina. In a statement, a Fifa spokesperson said: "As is modular procedure, Fifa's autarkic disciplinary committee is presently assessing the lucifer reports and considering the applicable circumstances earlier deciding connected imaginable further steps based connected the Fifa disciplinary code." Argentina's football association was fined £20,000 by Fifa in 2014 for holding a banner with the same wording prior to a friendly against Slovenia. At the time, world football's governing body said the gesture breached rules on political expression and team misconduct.