Argentina have escaped without major punishment despite calls to ban their ‘idiotic’ stars who carried a banner claiming the Falkland Islands belong to their country following their World Cup semi-final victory over England last month.FIFA today slapped Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes with a massive 10-match ban over a fight at the end of the World Cup final against Spain – with team-mate Nahuel Molina hit with a seven-game sanction.But the tournament runners-up were let-off when it came to their Falklands protests. FIFA have imposed a two-match partial stadium closure, reducing the crowd size for Argentina’s next two home matches to 50 per cent. However, one of those matches is suspended. They have also been hit with £235,000 in fines, £73,000 of which is suspended. The banner, first displayed in the crowd before being handed down to the players after they beat England 2-1, read ‘The Falkland Islands are Argentine’ in Spanish.Despite FIFA’s ban on political flags, Tottenham captain Cristian Romero, Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez and ex-Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso celebrated with the controversial sign after the final whistle. Captain and star player Lionel Messi was also seen dancing alongside the banner. Argentina’s Leandro Paredes has been banned for 10 matches over the World Cup final fight Nahuel Molina has been handed a seven-match ban for his role in the post-match brawl Argentina players were criticised for displaying this banner after beating EnglandUK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle, said at the time that it was ‘entirely inappropriate’ to wave the banner, praising England for acting with dignity in ‘real contrast with what we saw with the Argentina team’.And Tory shadow minister Andrew Griffith said: ‘Labour’s Chagos surrender has made us look weak, and British territory up for grabs. The Falklands are British. Whoever won the football. This idiotic display from the Argies was clearly against FIFA rules. They should be punished.’ Argentina have been condemned for their thuggish antics throughout the tournament, prompting FIFA to investigate their behaviour following the final whistle of last month’s showpiece where they were beaten 1-0 by Spain.Paredes grabbed Spain’s Eric Garcia by the neck before punching Gavi in the face and pushing him to the ground in appalling scenes at full time.The 32-year-old will now miss Argentina’s next 10 matches and has also been fined £65,000. Molina was another involved in the fracas, hitting Spain captain Rodri in the torso as he ran past, prompting the midfielder to square up to his rival. FIFA have handed Molina a seven-match ban.Meanwhile, Argentina’s Thiago Almada and Spain’s Gavi will serve one-match bans for their role in the unsporting scenes.The fines, though, will do little to put a dent in the £25million prize money they received for finishing runners-up in North America.