Post by starlight07 on Nov 5, 2011 9:05:38 GMT -5
Outcry as England stars are banned from having a poppy on their kit
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2057817/England-stars-banned-having-poppy-kit.html#ixzz1cq7acNZ5
The England football team has been banned from wearing poppies by the sport’s world governing body.
The Football Association wanted the players to wear the emblem on their shirts when they play Spain a week today, but Fifa ruled that no changes can be made to official kit.
Last night a string of war heroes and charities condemned the decision as ‘absolutely wrong’ and an insult to those who fought and died in the name of freedom.
Fifa is based in Switzerland, which profited from its neutrality during the Second World War.
The Football Association had asked it for special dispensation to allow poppies to be sewn into England shirts for next week’s friendly – a day before Remembrance Sunday.
But Fifa stuck to its hardline stance, arguing that allowing additional marks to be made to team kit would lead to a string of other countries making requests to commemorate events on their national shirts.
The decision will further discredit football’s global governing body, which has faced numerous corruption allegations in recent years and seen two of its executives depart following a bribery scandal.
President Sepp Blatter, who is Swiss, has been at odds with the English FA after it raised questions about his running of the organisation.
Campaigners have called on the England players to defy the ruling.
They point out that it is not unusual for national teams to wear black armbands to commemorate influential figures in the game and wider society.
All 20 Premier League clubs will have the Royal British Legion emblem on their shirts in the run-up to the anniversary.
The Football Association wanted the players to wear the emblem on their shirts when they play Spain a week today, but Fifa ruled that no changes can be made to official kit.
Last night a string of war heroes and charities condemned the decision as ‘absolutely wrong’ and an insult to those who fought and died in the name of freedom.
Fifa is based in Switzerland, which profited from its neutrality during the Second World War.
The Football Association had asked it for special dispensation to allow poppies to be sewn into England shirts for next week’s friendly – a day before Remembrance Sunday.
But Fifa stuck to its hardline stance, arguing that allowing additional marks to be made to team kit would lead to a string of other countries making requests to commemorate events on their national shirts.
The decision will further discredit football’s global governing body, which has faced numerous corruption allegations in recent years and seen two of its executives depart following a bribery scandal.
President Sepp Blatter, who is Swiss, has been at odds with the English FA after it raised questions about his running of the organisation.
Campaigners have called on the England players to defy the ruling.
They point out that it is not unusual for national teams to wear black armbands to commemorate influential figures in the game and wider society.
All 20 Premier League clubs will have the Royal British Legion emblem on their shirts in the run-up to the anniversary.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2057817/England-stars-banned-having-poppy-kit.html#ixzz1cq7acNZ5
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Crap, the Name Escapes Me 
