Falklands row with Argentina erupts again as banner seen in Lionel Messi's farewell game

 Lionel Messi's final match for Argentina was a showcase for Falklands propaganda and the legendary footballer was greeted by a war veteran draped in a 'Malvinas' flag. The 39-year-old winked at Fabio Santana, the war veteran who served for Argentina in the Falklands and sang the national anthem, and was draped in a flag that read: 'The Falklands are ours' in Spanish.

It's been an ongoing rhetoric that the South American country have been pushing since the World Cup, with Santana claiming the islands belonged to Argentina, not the United Kingdom, following their win over Thomas Tuchel's side in the semi-finals of the tournament. Argentina President Javier Milei also said his nation needed to recover the island in an address given in September.

Now, in Messi's final match for Argentina, some of the 85,000 in attendance used the occasion to send their political messages with flags around the ground reading 'Las Malvinas son Argentinas' - 'The Falklands are Argentine' - while others showed the islands in blue and white, the colours of the Argentinian flag. The win over England at the World Cup acted as a catalyst for Argentina players and fans to assert their claim to the islands.

However, the Island has been ruled by Britain since January 1833 and in a 2013 referendum, 99.8% of the citizens voted to remain as a British overseas territory. The two nations were at war in 1982, but the island remained in British control.

The banners at the World Cup sparked outrage in Britain, with then-Prime Minister Kier Starmer responding to the banners, stating: "The World Cup might not be ours, the Falkland Islands definitely are. Self-determination rests with the islanders and our commitment to the Falklands will never waver."

FIFA opened an investigation into the banners, with the governing body forbidding the use of any political messaging at the World Cup, despite previously turning a blind eye to a song referencing 1982 which was sung by fans and the players throughout the tournament.

British governance of the Falklands Island remains a sore point for Argentinians, with president Milei stating that players' celebrations during the World Cup and banner as 'perfectly valid.' He claims the message "reflects a sentiment shared by all Argentines".

He said: "I know that for Argentinians, we won the World Cup the moment we beat England because that's really what everyone wanted."

Messi called time on his glistening career after defeat to Spain in the World Cup final, and he pulled on the Argentina shirt for one final time in a 3-0 win over Benin, scoring from the penalty spot before giving an emotional farewell speech.