Argentina fans BURN Union Jack ahead of England clash amid trouble fears
England and Argentina will face-off in the World Cup semi-finals and supporters back home have sent a reminder that there’s no love lost between the two nations
Argentina fans made their hostility clear(Image: /X)
A group of Argentina fans ramped up the tension ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final clash with England by BURNING the Union Jack. Footage shows a group of gleeful Argentines setting light to the flag in Escobar, near the capital city of Buenos Aires.
Cheers can be heard from the crowd as the fire begins to glow. A number of bystanders can also be seen jumping up and down while chanting: “He who doesn’t jump is an Englishman.”
The footage is said to have been recorded after Argentina beat Switzerland on Saturday night, with the Three Lions having booked their place in the semi-finals earlier in the day. The World Cup holders haven’t played England since a 2005 friendly.
While the two countries have sufficient history when it comes to football, there’s plenty off the pitch, too. The Union Jack was used prominently by British soldiers during the Falklands War and is part of the current flag of the Falkland Islands.
The video of the flag being burned raised eyebrows since England, of course, use the St George’s cross. On social media, one user asked: “Are they that dumb or what?”
Another claimed: “Burning the flag of Great Britain thinking it’s England’s just proves that the biggest enemy of the Argentine isn’t the English, it’s the geography book.”
After beating Switzerland 3-1 after extra-time, Argentina’s players were filmed singing about the Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas). “For the Malvinas, for Diego [Maradona], for Leo’s [Lionel Messi] last one,” they chanted inside their dressing room.
But Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni doesn’t want his players to get caught up in the emotion of the occasion. “The message is this is a football game” Scaloni affirmed at a press conference.
“That is what I can say. We will be playing against a very tough opponent, they have an excellent coach, it is a football game and that is all.”
Meanwhile, Argentina forward Jose Lopez said: “Obviously, inside and outside the four lines of the pitch it’s a match that has a lot of history there, a lot of pain and a lot of things behind it. I think we are professionals and we’re going to play it like we play every game: until the last second, leaving our lives on the field.”
