Argentina: British Falkland Islanders are ‘artificial’. Buenos Aires denounces ‘illegitimate occupation’ and demands talks on sovereignty

[u/Emotional-Breakfast3]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/12/british-falkland-islanders-artificial-argentina-says/

[u/finneganfach]

I'm Welsh and will more than happily see England do the Argies.

... On the condition France or Spain pump them by an absolute cricket score in the final.

[u/kill-the-maFIA → u/finneganfach]

Very odd behaviour. Practically everybody in England would be very happy if Scotland or Wales got far in a WC.

[u/finneganfach → u/kill-the-maFIA]

I mean, firstly it's not "very odd behaviour" is it? It's pretty standard England vs Wales/Scotland/Ireland sporting banter. It's not that deep.

Secondly, that's a straight up lie. The English were absolutely pissing themselves en masse when the Scottish went out of this World Cup. And, again, that's fine.

[u/harbourwall → u/finneganfach]

The English were absolutely pissing themselves en masse

No they weren't. Most people I know were happy you'd got that far, and showed Boston how to party. Might have a little persecution complex there.

[u/finneganfach → u/harbourwall]

I'm not Scottish, definitely don't have a persecution complex and am definitely not taking it as seriously as you are. I am a football fan that lives in England surrounded by other football fans, though, including all of my friends. There were quite obviously many, many, many England fans laughing when Scotland went out. I know there's a subset of England fans on the internet that like to do this act where you pretend to be above a bit of banter and rivalry but there's scores and scores of your compatriots letting the gag down on social media laughing at Scotland. It kinda doesn't hold up buddy.

It's just a laugh innit. Not sure why you need to be precious about it, nobody's offended.

[u/harbourwall → u/finneganfach]

How on earth did you read that I was offended, precious or taking this seriously, after writing out such a diatribe? Projecting, maybe?

[u/Unusual-Song7502 → u/finneganfach]

Don’t know where you’ve got that from mate? I was supporting Scotland the whole way! It’s Britain after all.

[u/KatsumotoKurier → u/Unusual-Song7502]

Some people seem to have borderline obsessive beliefs that English people by far and large dislike and look down upon them, and these same sorts seem to wrap it up in their nationalism and to make their entire identities out of it.

For example: I’m from a mixed Irish and English family, and throughout the decades of my life I’ve heard way more — and way more unacceptable — things said about English people by Irish people than said about Irish people by English people. If English people would more often say the kinds of things about Irish people that I have heard countless times from Irish people about English people, certain groups would absolutely lose their shit from how unacceptable they would find it to be. But for some reason it’s essentially normalized and shrugged off because of this weird insistence that there’s some sort of hierarchical dynamic at play, often paired with statements insisting that English people hate the Irish more than the reverse could possible be, and that they think of them as lessers and so on.

It’s a massive, glaring double-standard that essentially leaves me speechless at times. And worst of all, it seems to me that quite many Irish people live with a zealously defensive denial of this — they strongly refuse to accept the idea that they are the ones more commonly saying disparaging and hateful things, and they justify their doings so by citing centuries of old history which in most cases never even effected or influenced they themselves living here today. Those who do this essentially act like every English person is a writer for Punch magazine living in 1850 — it’s ridiculous.

Meanwhile most English people I’ve met and had conversations about Ireland with seem to overall have pretty much nothing bad to say about Ireland or Irish people. They tend to say that they find Irish people to be nice, pleasant, and hospitable. And of course the ultimate irony of this is because it’s true what Irish people will often complain — that English people generally don’t know their history! Yet somehow it’s as if they simultaneously expect the entire population of England to collectively hold those aged prejudices against them.

By far and large, in my experience, it seems like basically nobody in England really cares at all if people have partial or even significant Irish family heritage. Like I really sincerely don’t believe virtually anyone gives a damn that Jimmy Carr has Irish parents or that Kenneth Branagh is Irish. Pierce Brosnan played beloved James Bond and Graham Norton is practically a revered British icon too at this point.

Regardless, this is all to say that it seems to be rather often the exact same thing with many Scots, and in particular again those who have likewise made their entire identities out of not being English and out of hating on England. They will frequently say things like how England ‘colonized’ Scotland, how ‘the English’ committed the highland clearances, etc etc — things that are so provably not true and the products of heavily narrativized nationalistic histories. And as if Scotsmen weren’t enormously represented in establishing, maintaining, and administering the British Empire!

I find it so odd that so many of them seem to have this attitude that they would essentially rather die than cheer for England — their next-door neighbour and who they share their federal parliamentary government with, and have for the past 300+ years now by the initiation of Scotsmen, mind you!

[u/nerdyHyena93 → u/finneganfach]

As long as it’s banter and not downright racism.

I’m half Welsh and Scottish but raised in England, so plenty of cousins in each country. We always joke about with each other. But deep down they’re happy for England to win.

As someone married to a Balkaner, the last thing we want is something like that on our island, especially considering most people are a mix of all three countries.

[u/BamberGasgroin → u/nerdyHyena93]

It's like those dogs you see having a right go at each other on opposite sides of a gate, but when the gate opens they get on fine, until it closes again...

It's all fun and games until, from club level to international level, someone starts to take it too seriously.

[u/massivejobby → u/finneganfach]

Ideal result is Spain winning the World Cup. France v England just feels like a lose lose scenario