5 - Poppies.

Just a couple of things about this whole Poppies on football shirts malarkey...

From what I can gather this issue has only flared up *once* before, in 2011, when a compromise was made whereby home nations teams were allowed to wear black armbands with poppies on for the FIFA matches being played. You would think this would be a much more regular occurrence, going back many years, but no...

It had never come up before then, as prior to that date the home nations teams had *never* worn poppies on their football shirts in any year before then.

In fact, the wearing of poppies sewn on to football shirts only became universal (in the Premier League) since... erm... 2010, and the earliest date I can find to a team doing this is 2003, and they were stated to be the first team ever to do so.

So, it's hardly a long standing tradition. And it's also not like there can't be other tributes paid to the those who died in wars as wreaths can be laid, or a two minute silence held, or a brass band can play The Last Post, or anything else the team might like to do.

It's just for a FIFA sanctioned match, you can't adorn your shirt with anything that doesn't fit with their very narrow kit regulations. No additional images, symbols, or logos, are allowed, and this is applied to all countries in FIFA matches.

Whether the poppy is, or isn't, a political symbol is irrelevant (I would say it isn't; FIFA disagree), as even if FIFA hadn't deemed it political it wouldn't be allowed anyway, as the rule notes;

"On all Playing Equipment items used on, or brought into (permanently or temporarily), the Pitch Area, for all Matches, any form of advertising for sponsors, products, Manufacturers (exceeding the extent of Manufacturer’s Identifications permitted under Chapter VI above), Suppliers or any third parties, of political, religious, commercial, personal statements, images and/or
other announcements, is strictly prohibited."

If not political, it would fail on other counts, anyway.

Just wear the armbands. The precedent has been set.