England and Scotland players will wear black armbands bearing poppies during a World Cup qualifying match on Armistice Day.
FIFA rules state that players are forbidden from wearing poppies during matches, as it considers the gesture to be a political statement
In a statement released Tuesday, the Football Association and Scottish Football Association confirmed that players will be allowed to pay tribute to the war dead by wearing the traditional symbol of remembrance. The FA also cited a ruling in 2011, when FIFA granted English players permission to bear poppies during a match against Spain.
We fully respect the laws of the game and take our founding role on the International Football Association Board extremely seriously. The poppy is an important symbol of remembrance and we do not believe it represents a political, religious, or commercial message, nor does it relate to any one historical event.
In keeping with the position agreed with FIFA back in 2011 and in what we believe is in accordance with Law 4, para 4, The FA intend to pay appropriate tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice by having the England team wear black armbands bearing poppies in our fixture on Armistice Day.
The FA and SFA could possibly be punished, but Rob Harris of The Associated Press reports that sanctions could be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
If English @FA is punished, they could just go to Court of Arbitration for Sport & say armbands with poppies worn in 2011 without sanctions
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) November 2, 2016
FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura is behind the decision to ban the armbands, explaining that allowing England and Scotland to wear poppies would lead to other countries requesting similar exemptions.
Earlier in the day, British Prime Minister Theresa May criticised the ruling, calling it "outrageous."
