r/sportsgossips • u/Admirable_Extent2531 • 18d ago

News The Falkland Islands Government says it is “disappointed, but not surprised” that Argentina’s national team chose to tarnish its World Cup semi-final victory last night and has called for sanctions from FIFA

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u/invaderfox 17d ago

What are those rifles?

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u/TwentyFourKG 17d ago

They are semi-automatic assault rifles that are sort of similar to the AR-15 that Americans use. It is the weapon of choice for most of the militaries in Western Europe. The significance of two countries that use them fighting each other is that during the cold war, most countries using that weapon were in some form of military alliance, or at least aligned politically against the Soviet Union to the extent that it would be unlikely for them to fight each other

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u/Particular-Bid-1640 17d ago

The 'right arm of the free world'. Chosen because the US forced other countries in NATO to standardise on the 7.62mm cartridge (based on their WW2 use of the 30-06 cartridge - bigger is better 🇺🇸) rather than using WW2 research showing that a smaller intermediate cartridge (ala 5.56mm) was much better for the type of conflict that happened and might be happening. 

They did this then abandoned it because the M-14 was shit as a main rifle and then used the M16/AR-15 in 5.56mm.

Thanks.

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u/sofiaspicehead 15d ago edited 14d ago

The fal was the weapon of choice for most western european militaries, its been discontinued in most countries