{"id":803200,"date":"2026-07-16T04:15:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T04:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/803200\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T04:15:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T04:15:18","slug":"fifa-world-cup-2026-jude-bellingham-hits-valentin-barco-in-the-head-argentina-political-banner-england-lose-semi-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/803200\/","title":{"rendered":"FIFA World Cup 2026 | Jude Bellingham hits Valentin Barco in the head, Argentina political banner, England lose semi-final"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jude Bellingham<\/a> could not keep his cool after England\u2019s 2-1 semi-final loss<\/a> to Argentina as he was spotted clipping the back of his rival\u2019s head post-match.<\/p>\n

Overwhelmed by the emotion of missing out on a spot in the World Cup<\/a> final, Bellingham lost his temper and clipped the back of the head of Argentina<\/a>\u2019s Valentin Barco, prompting a fiery exchange between the pair.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jude Bellingham of England and Lisandro Martinez of Argentina argue.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

Barco, a substitute for Argentina<\/a>, was celebrating with teammates when the incident happened. He then exchanged some heated words with the Englishman. <\/p>\n

Argentina\u2019s Nicolas Otamendi was seen attempting to separate the pair before Ollie Watkins and England\u2019s reserve goalkeeper James Trafford joined in to remove their teammate from the ugly scene. <\/p>\n

It is unclear exactly what was said to prompt the pair in that way; however, they were not the only opponents to get in the faces of each other. <\/p>\n

England\u2019s Morgan Rogers was seen in a heated scuffle along with Jordan Henderson, but referee Ismail Elfath intervened to stop the incident. <\/p>\n

Attention then turned to Argentina\u2019s celebrations as the nation held up a political banner that declared \u201cLas Malvinas Son Argentinas\u201d [The Falklands are Argentine].<\/p>\n

The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory that remains in a sovereignty dispute between Britain and Argentina, with the two nations once going to war over the group of islands in 1982.<\/p>\n

A total of 649 Argentine and 255 British soliders died during that conflict. Britain ended up victorious and has jurisdiction over the land today.<\/p>\n

Argentina players have previously used banners with the same message to make their feelings clear, with many claiming their nation inherited the islands in 1816. <\/p>\n

FIFA has previously hit them with a $38,000 fine.<\/p>\n

FIFA\u2019s rules state no political messaging is allowed, whether that be a banner, flag, flyer, apparel or any other paraphernalia that athletes or fans obtain.<\/p>\n

It is likely the Argentine Football Association will again be hit with a fine – though they are unlikely to be too upset.<\/p>\n

\"Giovani<\/p>\n

Giovani Lo Celso and Nicolas Otamendi hold the banner.\u00a0AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just another match,\u201d wrote Argentina\u2019s Vice President Victoria Villarruel on X before the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to be politically correct or cold-hearted; against the English, it\u2019s always something more. It\u2019s the Malvinas, it\u2019s Diego, it\u2019s Leo\u2019s last one, and it\u2019s putting the brakes on the invaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

England manager Thomas Tuchel paid the price for trying to park the bus after Anthony Gordon\u2019s 55th minute goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was blood in the water, and we went for it,\u201d Argentina\u2019s coach Lionel Scaloni said.<\/p>\n

One prominent group of Argentine veterans, seeking to defuse tensions ahead of the match, said that Maradona\u2019s goals \u201calready avenged us,\u201d adding, \u201cWe have no sporting scores left to settle with England.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a watch party of Falklands War veterans in Quilmes, a city in Buenos Aires province, Juan Carlos Salinas, a 74-year-old veteran, struggled to speak through tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis for us is… something big,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Argentina unveiled a massive Lionel Messi statue in Patagonia for the World Cup.\u00a0X<\/p>\n

In Cutral Co in the southern province of Neuquen, a crowd of about 300 locals watched the game on a screen set up next to a new 26m statue of Argentina captain Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n

They burst into screams as the referee blew his whistle at the end of the match.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a victory of suffering,\u201d said Lucas Romero, a 32-year-old local, standing next to his beaming wife.<\/p>\n

He motioned to the statue in front of him: \u201cIt\u2019s a good recognition of all that Messi has done.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Buenos Aires, which had been mostly empty during the match, fans waved flags and chanted as drivers honked to celebrate the victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just about football, it\u2019s about beating the country that broke our hearts,\u201d Maria Bertero, 40, said, referring to the war.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart still aches for all the young boys who were sent to their deaths.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fans celebrate Argentina’s first goal.\u00a0AP Photo\/Rodrigo Abd<\/p>\n

Mariano Gecik, a 49-year-old university professor, watched the game at the home of friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m overcome with emotion. Once again, it\u2019s about resurrection, resilience, and sheer grit; we truly deserve our place in the World Cup final,\u201d Gecik said.<\/p>\n

All the way down Avenida 9 de Julio, in the heart of the capital, cries of \u201cFor the Malvinas, for Diego, for Leo\u2019s last one (tournament)\u201d pierced the air.<\/p>\n

Crowds also bounced up and down to another popular chant dating back decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cEl que no salta es un ingles,\u201d or, \u201cWhoever doesn\u2019t jump is an Englishman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defending champions Argentina will play Spain in Monday\u2019s (AEST) final.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jude Bellingham could not keep his cool after England\u2019s 2-1 semi-final loss to Argentina as he was spotted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":803201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-803200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}