The White House has publicly defended the right of Argentina's players to display the controversial Falklands banner following their World Cup semi-final victory over England, marking the latest political development in a disciplinary case that FIFA is still reviewing ahead of Sunday's final against Spain.

Argentina players held up a political banner declaring “Las Malvinas Son Argentinas” (“The Falklands are Argentine”) after their 2-1 World Cup semi-final win.

The banner referred to the disputed territory at the centre of the 1982 war between Argentina and the United Kingdom.