Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleArgentina's vice-president, Victoria Villarruel, escalated political tensions ahead of the World Cup semi-final against England by labelling them "invaders" and "usurping pirates" in a post on X. Villarruel explicitly connected the football match to the historical dispute over the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls Las Malvinas, stating it was "always something more" than just a game. In contrast, Argentina's coach, Lionel Scaloni, urged for a clear separation of sport and politics, describing the conflation of the two as "madness" and emphasising the match's focus on football. Authorities, including the FBI, Fifa, and local police, addressed the potential for fan escalations due to the deep-seated historical animosity, leading to additional security personnel being deployed for the semi-final in Atlanta. Meanwhile, in the UK, pubs anticipated a significant economic boost from the match, with the British Beer and Pub Association forecasting an additional six million pints to be sold on Wednesday, representing a 75 per cent increase on an average day. In fullArgentina’s vice-president calls England ‘usurping pirates’ in rant before World Cup clashMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
‘England are invaders’ says Argentina’s vice-president ahead of World Cup semi-final
Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleArgentina's vice-president, Victoria Villarruel, escalated political tensions ahead of the World Cup semi-final against England by labelling them "invaders" and "usurping pirates" in a post on X. Villarruel explicitly connected the football match to the historical dispute over the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls Las Malvinas, stating it was "always something more" than just a game. In contrast, Argentina's coach, Lionel Scaloni, urged for a clear separation of sport and politics, describing the conflation of the two as "madness" and emphasising the match's focus on football. Authorities, including the FBI, Fifa, and local police, addressed the potential for fan escalations due to the deep-seated historical animosity, leading to additional security personnel being deployed for the semi-final in Atlanta. Meanwhile, in the UK, pubs anticipated a significant economic boost from the match, with the British Beer and Pub Association forecasting an additional six million pints to be sold on Wednesday, representing a 75 per cent increase on an average day. In fullArgentina’s vice-president calls England ‘usurping pirates’ in rant before World Cup clashMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
