STORY: A printing workshop in Buenos Aires printed the controversial "The Malvinas are Argentine" message for free on Saturday (July 25), asserting sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, after it was displayed at the World Cup semi-final against England.

The workshop used the typography of the banner that Argentina players held up after beating England in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 15, to stamp the message on fans' clothes.

A Reuters photograph showed the white, homemade-looking banner initially waved by fans celebrating in the stadium's front row. According to Argentine newspaper Clarin, midfielder Giovani Lo Celso approached the supporters and asked to borrow it. Britain urged FIFA to investigate the incident.

The question of sovereignty over the South Atlantic British overseas territory, known to the British as the Falklands and to the Argentines as the Malvinas, has been a long-running sore in relations between the countries.

Argentina has long claimed it inherited the islands from Spain after its independence in 1816 and that Britain took control in 1833 through an illegal colonial act. Britain, under Thatcher's government, and Argentina fought a brief war over the islands in 1982, in which 649 Argentine and 255 British service members died, ⁠after Argentina invaded in a failed bid to take them.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (JULY 25, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. MESSAGE “THE MALVINAS ARE ARGENTINE” PRINTED ON CLOTH

2. FAN SHOWING ARGENTINA JERSEYS WITH MESSAGE PRINTED

3. STAFF PRINTING MESSAGE

4. FANS IN LINE WAITING TO HAVE MESSAGE PRINTED

5. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAITING IN LINE OUTSIDE WORKSHOP

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINA FAN, CARINA MIRANDA, SAYING:

"I was 13 years old when the Malvinas war happened, so I lived through Malvinas. I want to have — I always have Argentina things. I don't call them rags; I call them flags. But well, we're here for the rags, as they say, and I came to print ‘The Malvinas are Argentine’."

7. STAFF PRINTING ON JERSEY

8. JERSEY WITH MESSAGE PRINTED

9. FANS IN LINE TO HAVE CLOTHES PRINTED

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINA FAN, PATRICIA CEGNA, SAYING:

"More than champions, they are national heroes. They didn't care about anything, not even the sanctions. They did it thanks to someone who had the idea of bringing a rag with four words, and they didn't hesitate. And for me, that was the final, nothing more and nothing less."

11. FANS WAITING IN LINE

12. FAN CARRYING JERSEY

13. PRINTING IN PROGRESS

14. STAFF DRYING PRINTED MESSAGE WITH DRYER

15. FANS AT THE WORKSHOP HAVING CLOTHES PRINTED

16. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINA FAN, NORMA VELTRI, SAYING:

"These boys were and will be the best foreign ministry the Argentine Republic has ever had for the Malvinas (Falkland Islands) claim. I don't think anyone else can surpass them, because they have taken our claim, which we have had since 1833, to the whole world. And one more thing: this World Cup will not be remembered because Spain won; it will be remembered because Argentines raised a rag asking for what is ours to be returned to us."

17. T-SHIRT WITH MESSAGE PRINTED BEING DRIED

18. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE HAVING CLOTHES PRINTED

19. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) WORKSHOP OWNER, IVAN MARCASCIANO, SAYING:

"The public response was amazing. From the moment we launched it, we had a lot of activity both on social media and by word of mouth; people came and rang the bell asking, 'Is this where they print the flag?' And, more or less, last weekend we printed about 1,000 pieces. Today we have a two-block line; I don't know, there will be a lot of people — at least 2,000, for sure."

20. VARIOUS OF MESSAGE PRINTED ON BANNER WITH LATE SOCCER STAR DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES (JULY 15, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE)

21. STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF ARGENTINA PLAYERS HOLDING BANNER AFTER BEATING ENGLAND AT WORLD CUP SEMI-FINAL