The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) will study match reports before deciding whether to take any action against Argentina players who lifted a banner that read 'Las Malvinas (Falklands) are Argentine' after their 2-1 win over England in the 2026 World Cup semi-final, as announced on Thursday.

A British minister on Thursday called on FIFA to open an investigation into what happened after Wednesday's match in Atlanta.

The office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Downing Street supported the call by Business Minister Peter Kyle following the World Cup semi-final match.

Kyle described the raising of the banner as a 'flagrant violation' of FIFA rules which prohibit political symbols on the field of play.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: 'The World Cup may not be ours, but the Falkland Islands certainly are.'

Argentina had invaded the British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean in 1982.

But Britain regained the archipelago after a short war, after then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sent a naval task force.

Kyle urged FIFA to conduct a 'thorough' investigation into the banner incident after Wednesday's match in Atlanta.

He said in a statement to BBC television: 'Politics must be kept out of football. In fact, one of the basic principles of the World Cup is that politics should be separate from football.'

He added: 'It is now up to FIFA... we expect FIFA to investigate this matter.'

FIFA issued a statement later on Thursday saying: 'We are studying the match reports.'

The statement said: 'In accordance with standard procedure, FIFA's independent disciplinary committee is currently studying the match reports and considering the relevant circumstances before deciding on any potential further steps based on the FIFA Disciplinary Code.'

The Argentine Football Association previously received a fine of £20,000 ($27,000) from FIFA in 2014 for players standing in front of a banner carrying the same message before a friendly match against Slovenia.

FIFA said that initiative violated rules regarding 'acts of a political nature' and team misconduct.

Britain occupied the Falkland Islands in the 19th century, but Argentina insists the islands are part of its territory.

For his part, Argentine President Javier Milei considered the move 'perfectly valid and legitimate'.

He told Radio El Observador: 'It is a genuine feeling among all Argentines.'

But he called for not mixing politics with sports, adding that 'a football match is a football match.'

Milei said: 'The Malvinas Islands are Argentine, and we will recover them, and we will do so through diplomatic means.'

Argentine Vice President Victoria Villarruel escalated tensions ahead of Wednesday's match when she described the English as 'usurping pirates'.

The 1982 conflict ended with 649 Argentines and 255 Britons killed.

Following Argentina's World Cup semi-final victory, Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said Buenos Aires had filed a formal protest over the presence of a British warship near the Falkland Islands.

Quirno posted a statement on platform X expressing 'strongest rejection' of the transit of the British ship HMS Medway through Argentine territorial waters, considering it was done 'without consultation and illegally', noting the lack of proper notification.

Quirno said the aforementioned ship, which is based in the Falkland Islands, had been accused of violating bilateral agreements, in a diplomatic protest note dated July 13 and submitted to the British Embassy in Buenos Aires.