American police confirm arrests as England and Argentina fans fight after World Cup semi-final

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FT Desk

The World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina was a fiery affair, and tempers spilt onto the streets after the match as fighting erupted between both sets of fans.

England took the lead through Anthony Gordon but Argentina fought back and eventually won 2-1 in dramatic fashion, with Enzo Fernandez scoring from range in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martinez heading in the winner two minutes into injury time.

It was a bad-tempered match, with the first half littered with fouls from both sets of players, while four yellow cards were shown as the referee took a lenient view of most offences.

🚨 WATCH: Police rescue an Argentina fan in London after he was surrounded by England fans pic.twitter.com/ukDjubWuEV

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There was already huge tension heading into the game, with the sporting and political rivalry between the two nations providing a backdrop to the action on the pitch.

The spectre of the Falklands War could be felt pre-match and after the game, too. Some South American fans celebrated their victory by holding a banner which read “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, translated as "the Falkland Islands are Argentinian."

There's no love lost between the fans, and violence broke out as Argentina celebrated and England mourned, with videos on social media showing some supporters being taken away in handcuffs.

There have been no official arrest figures given, but reports suggested the scuffles only involved a minority of fans.

There was also one incident in England where a man wearing an Argentina kit had to be escorted away from England fans for his own safety.

The aforementioned banner made its way onto the pitch and was held by some of the Argentina players which has caused plenty of controversy.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC: “My reaction is that it was entirely inappropriate. Politics needs to be separate from football.

“That is now a matter for FIFA. I expect FIFA to do its investigation thoroughly. We expect FIFA to undertake an investigation into this.

“I think it was certain to happen because it was such an egregious violation of the rules of not having political activity as part of the football.”

Argentina booked their place in the final on Sunday, when they will face Spain after La Roja defeated France 2-0 in the other semi-final.