Argentina claimed that the Royal Navy patrol vessel had passed through its waters on the way to Chile, though the UK has disputed this.

In a much-anticipated and politically-charged matchup, England lost to Argentina on the soccer pitch earlier this week during the World Cup—the latest showdown in a rivalry that goes back decades and remains one of the most hostile in the sport.

However, a bigger and far more significant controversy is brewing between London and Buenos Aires. Just hours after Argentina won in the World Cup semi-final matchup, one of its top officials accused the UK of sending a warship to its sovereign waters.

Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno claimed the Royal Navy’s Batch 2 River-class patrol vessel HMS Medway (P223) was conducting a “military incursion” into Argentine waters earlier in the month without formally notifying the government of the planned deployment. 

The lightly armed vessel has been permanently deployed as the Falklands Island guard ship since January of this year, taking over from HMS Forth (P222), another River-class OPV. (In Argentina’s telling, “Argentine waters” includes the waters around the British-controlled Falkland Islands; the UK disagrees.)

The British government has claimed in response that HMS Medway was underway on a “routine logistics visit to Chile.”

“The facts here are that we have notified the Argentinian government in advance of HMS Medway taking a routine logistics visit to Chile between 5 and 8 July to support British Antarctic survey operations which will deliver essential stores and supplies to sustain scientific research in Antarctica,” a statement from UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s office read.

Number 10 added that the transit from the Falkland Islands to Chile took the “most direct practicable route,” and that it was conducted in “full compliance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).” The UK also maintained that Buenos Aires was notified in advance of the planned logistic activity involving the Royal Navy vessel.

HMS Medway transited the Strait of Magellan, a waterway that is open to ships of all nations under the 1881 Chile-Argentina treaty. It lies entirely in Chilean waters, with no borders with Argentina, although the approach from the Atlantic Ocean is along the Argentine coast.

“[The Strait of Magellan] is covered by the right of innocent passage enjoyed by all vessels, including warships under UNCLOS rules. An Argentine warship could, for example, freely transit the English Channel under the same legal framework,” Navy Lookout explained.

Why Is Argentina Still Angry About the Falklands?

The issue is about more than where one warship traveled, or what happened in the World Cup match. Argentina claims the Falkland Islands, which it calls the Malvinas, as sovereign territory it inherited when it gained independence from Spain in the early 19th century. 

The Falkland Islands, which are located in the South Atlantic, are some 300 miles off the eastern coast of Argentina and roughly 8,000 miles from the United Kingdom. In the 1760s, the British and French separately established settlements on the islands, prior to Argentina’s independence. The Spanish later took control of the French settlement, while the British withdrew from the islands in 1774 but maintained a territorial claim. Spain also withdrew its presence from the islands in 1811 amid the Latin American wars of independence, leaving them empty. During the 1820s, an Argentine rancher named Luis Vernet returned to the islands to raise cattle—initially with British permission—but after the newly-independent Argentina appointed him governor of the islands, directly challenging London’s claim, the United Kingdom returned with warships in 1833 and forcibly re-established British control.

This historical situation is sufficiently jumbled that both the UK and Argentina have maintained long-running territorial claims on the Falklands, though the UK has kept de facto control. Buenos Aires argues that the British unlawfully seized the islands in 1833, and its remaining presence is an example of modern colonialism. The United Kingdom dismisses these claims, stressing that it has held sovereignty there even before Argentina existed as a nation.

In the spring of 1982, the military junta of Argentina attempted to rally popular support by seizing the islands from the UK. The British government under Margaret Thatcher responded by sending a naval task force to the islands and reconquering them in a brief but intense war. A total of 907 people were killed: 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Island civilians.

During the short war, the Royal Navy saw seven ships sunk, including the destroyers HMS Sheffield and HMS Coventry, frigates HMS Ardent and HMS Antelope, auxiliary ship Atlantic Conveyor, and landing ships RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram. Argentina lost five ships, including the former United States Navy cruiser ARA General Belgrano, the largest warship sunk since World War II in combat until the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva in April 2022. The submarine ARA Santa Fe was attacked and disabled and later abandoned, with the naval trawler Narwal, the transport ship Isla de los Estados, and the supply and cargo ship Río Carcarañá all sunk.

The UK continues to reject Argentina’s territorial claims to the Falklands. In a 2013 referendum, 99.8 percent of Falkland residents voted to remain a British overseas territory.

Soccer (known as football in much of the world) has played a role in reigniting the controversy. Argentina and England played each other in the 2026 World Cup semi-finals on Monday, their first matchup in two decades. After Argentina won, the Argentine players held up a banner that read “Las Malvinas son Argentinas,” meaning “The Falklands are Argentine.” It is unclear if FIFA, which forbids political messaging during its matches, will take action, though The Independent noted that it had fined the Argentine Football Association £20,000 (~$32,000) in 2014 after a similar incident.

Countries Have Gone to War over Soccer Before…

Although London and Buenos Aires aren’t likely to come to blows, soccer has resulted in past conflict. In the summer of 1969, the so-called “Football War” started after a World Cup qualification match between El Salvador and Honduras. 

The two small, neighboring Central American countries had more than a century of distrust and mutual dislike for one another. The conflict, also known as the “100 Hour War,” followed increased tensions as fans of each team harassed the opposing team prior to the first two games. The third and final play-off, held in neutral Mexico City, was won by El Salvador in overtime, after which its government claimed 12,000 Salvadoran migrant workers were forced to flee Honduras while tens of thousands more were repelled. Soon after, Salvadoran tanks crossed the border.

The fighting lasted a week, with more than 4,000 killed. It ended when the Organization of American States (OAS) negotiated a ceasefire. Not much was gained by either side, but the incident helped to cause the Salvadoran Civil War that broke out a decade later.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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