BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Argentina’s Foreign Ministry demanded explanations Wednesday from U20 World Cup organizers for hiding images of the Falkland Islands and the Argentine flag on the sides of a giant screen at one of the stadiums where the match is being played. the struggle of the young.
The complaint was made after a photograph of the Malvinas stadium in Argentina’s Mendoza province, 1,000 kilometers west of Buenos Aires, went viral on social networks, in which it was noted that both images were covered by FIFA posters.
“It is requested that you know if such an event corresponds to the obligation assumed by the Secretary of Sports and/or another provincial body,” said the note from the Falkland Islands, Antarctic and South Atlantic Secretariat, which operates under the Foreign Orbit. The ministry is organized by the provincial government.
“If that were the case, I want to notify you of the firm rejection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he said. “The name of the stadium was decided in 1982 in honor of those who died in the conflict in the South Atlantic.”
That archipelago, which is now considered an overseas part of Britain, is the subject of a historical dispute with the South American country, which claims it as its own. The Argentines and the British fought a war in 1982, which ended with the surrender of Argentina.
650 Argentine fighters and 255 Englishmen died.
FIFA does not recognize the stadium under the name “Malvinas Argentinas” but Mendoza does. It was decided to avoid getting involved in political conflicts.
However, the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned in its communication on Wednesday that “the name Malvinas identifies the Argentine part of the national territory, which is why it cannot be considered a political expression that can be uncomfortable, especially in the case of a football match played in the Republic of Argentina”.
A photographer present at the stadium confirmed that both symbols were revealed on Wednesday before the duel between Italy and Nigeria.
