World football organizing body FIFA announced on Wednesday that it’ll be opening disciplinary proceedings against the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and a number of Albiceleste players following the display of a flag with the message “Las Malvinas son argentinas” (The Malvinas are Argentine) after their win vs England in the 2026 World Cup.
In the statement, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee noted Argentina is under investigation “for potential breaches” of articles 13, 14, 15 and 17 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. Said articles legislate the use of sports “for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature,” team misconduct, discrimination,racist abuse, order and security at matches.
According the world football’s governing body, it opens the investigation “in light of discriminatory chants and gestures, late kick-offs, failure to comply with match and security protocols,” as well as the “display of inappropriate messages by the team and spectators’’ and the “throwing of objects by spectators in relation to several matches of the representative team of Argentina at the FIFA World Cup 2026.”
In the same communiqué, FIFA announced individual investigations for breaking article 14 on grounds of assault and unsporting behavior on Albiceleste players Leandro Paredes, Nahuel Molina, Thiago Almada and coach Roberto Ayala, likely related to the incidents after Spain’s win in the World Cup final. Spanish player Pablo Martín Páez Gavira, better known as Gavi, is also under investigation.
