Argentina's war veterans urge fans to focus on football ahead of England match

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, July 13 : An Argentine war veterans federation called on soccer supporters to focus on football ahead of their World Cup semi-final against England rather than use the match as a platform to push sovereignty claims over South Atlantic islands.Argentina and Britain fought a short conflict over the islands known by the British as the Falklands and Argentines as the Malvinas in 1982, in which 649 Argentine soldiers and 255 British combatants died.The group said on Monday that the match was "not an armed rematch nor historical compensation," urging fans and the wider public to honour the memory of Argentine soldiers killed in the conflict without promoting hatred or xenophobia."Sovereignty is defended in international forums through diplomacy, historical truth and the pe