Argentina’s vice-president calls England ‘pirates’ in rant before World Cup clash
Argentina’s vice-president has bizarrely described England as “invaders” and “usurping pirates” ahead of the teams’ World Cup semi-final clash.
Political tensions between Argentina and Great Britain, which escalated into conflict in 1982 over the Falkland Islands, continue.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said before the match that it would be “crazy” to mix sports and politics, but his country’s vice president, Victoria Villarruel, fueled the discourse on this issue in a post about X.
“Tomorrow we will play against usurping pirates,” the post began.
“This is no ordinary game. I’m not going to be politically correct or cold-hearted, there’s always more against the English.
“Malvinas, Diego is the last of Leo and holds back the invaders. Go to Argentina! Because until our last breath, we will claim what is ours!”
Las Malvinas is the name given to the Falkland Islands in Argentina, where a referendum was held in 2013 in which the islanders voted overwhelmingly to remain a British overseas territory.
A meeting attended by the FBI, FIFA and local police discussed the deep-rooted historical hostility between the countries and potential fan tensions. Atlanta deployed additional personnel for Wednesday’s semifinal to ensure security.
Scaloni did his best to stay away from geopolitical discussions at Tuesday’s pre-match press conference.
“This is a football match; out of respect for what happened all those years ago, I can’t mix things up,” he said.
“It was a very painful period in our history and there is not much we can do about it. It would be madness to confuse the two. We criticize that there was war. We criticize that.”
“Of course people remember the history and what happened, this is a football match, we need to keep the events separate.
“Yes, we remember the Argentinian people and the people lost in the war, but let’s not confuse things. What do today’s players have to do with those years ago?”
Meanwhile, pubs in the UK expect to sell an extra six million pints on Wednesday.
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said pubs expected to sell an average of eight million pints on Wednesday in July, meaning the extra six million equates to a 75 per cent increase.
BBPS chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “Through the World Cup we have seen millions of extra pints sold following home countries’ matches.
“Given the nail-biting risks, we expect Wednesday to be the most successful night of the tournament, with potentially more than six million extra pints to be sold – a bigger increase than we would normally see on bank holidays or New Year’s Eve.”
