*Updated on July 14, 12 p.m.
Several groups representing Malvinas War veterans have urged calm ahead of Argentina’s World Cup semifinal against England on Wednesday, calling on fans to keep the focus on football.
The Albiceleste will face Three Lions for a spot in the tournament final in a game charged with historical significance. The two have been bitter rivals since the Malvinas War, a 10-week conflict in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over two sets of islands in the South Atlantic.
“Sports are not war,” said a statement by the 2 de Abril Malvinas Veterans Federation. “The semifinal match is a global sporting event, not an armed rematch or a form of historical retribution.”
In the statement, they added that sovereignty should be defended “in international forums through diplomacy.” Argentina’s “true triumph,” they said, lies “in the cry of ‘¡Malvinas Argentinas!’ that rings out proudly from every grandstand, without resorting to xenophobia or hatred.”
