Argentina complains about British warship near Falklands hours after World Cup victory

Argentina complained about a British warship being near the Falkland Islands hours after the country’s World Cup triumph over England. Foreign minister Pablo Quirno claimed HMS Medway made an “unconsulted and illegal” journey through Argentine waters and accused the Royal Navy of a “military incursion” into his country.

In a post on social media, Mr Quirno said the vessel had entered Argentine waters earlier this month without notice being given to the country, leading to the diplomatic complaint. Writing on X, he said a formal note of protest had been lodged with the British Embassy over the vessel’s movements.

A Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel, HMS Medway is based in the Falkland Islands. It replaced HMS Forth as the Royal Navy’s permanent guard ship in the region’s waters. It is tasked to patrol the seas and protect UK fishing interests.

Mr Quirno said: “In diplomacy, work is not shouted about like goals, but we are driven by the same conviction: the pride of being Argentine and the constant defence of our interests.”

He also accused the UK of “deepening tensions” in the South Atlantic and claimed the “incursion” was just the latest in a series of similar provocations.

Argentina, the defending World Cup champions, beat England 2-1 in Wednesday’s match in Atlanta.

Fans celebrated their victory jubilantly, with some near the pitch holding a banner which read “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, which translates to “The Falkland Islands are Argentinian”.

The banner referring to the dispute over the British overseas territory made its way to the players, who held it up as they revelled in their win.

They could face the prospect of disciplinary action from governing body FIFA for violating rules banning political messaging on the pitch.

England and Argentina fans clashed after the match, with scraps breaking out around the stadium.

Political tensions still simmer between Argentina and Britain over the Falkland Islands, which boiled over into a short but bloody war in 1982.

Buenos Aires has repeatedly claimed sovereignty over the archipelago, which are about 8,000 miles from the UK and 300 miles from mainland Argentina.

Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni had said before the game he did not want the fixture to become about the conflict over the territory.

But the country’s vice-president Victoria Villarruel tweeted a victory message at full-time saying “it wasn’t just another match” alongside a video of what appeared to be Argentinian soldiers.

In the build-up to the fixture, she had described England as “invaders” and “usurping pirates”.