Theresa may blasts Fifa over ‘outrageous’ poppy ban

Theresa May has lambasted Fifa by branding the governing bodys poppy ban as utterly outrageous. The comments come as the Football Association (FA) attempt to get the ban lifted for the Armistice Day match between England and Scotland on 11 November. The row has broken out because teams are not allowed to carry political, religious or commercial messages on their shirts under Fifa regulations.

The football associations of England and Scotland have confirmed their players will wear poppies when the two countries meet in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley Stadium on Armistice Day (11 November), despite the threat of sanctions from world footballing body Fifa.

The Wales Football Association (FA) has also confirmed it has requested permission to wear poppies when the team plays Serbia on 12th November, though the Welsh FA has not yet confirmed it will defy Fifa if it is refused permission.

English Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn said the poppy ban would be ignored because the poppy was not a religious, political or commercial symbol.

Glenn told the BBC: We are standing shoulder to shoulder with the other home nations on this, we all feel very strongly. Its not a political symbol and I think most people would agree with us.

Prime Minister Theresa May gave her support to the plan to wear poppies on 11th November, telling the House of Commons Fifa should deal with its own problems.

Before they tell us what to do, [they] jolly well ought to sort their own house out, she told the house, in a dig at Fifas ongoing corruption scandals.

In 2011, the English FA and Fifa reached a compromise when players wore a black armband carrying the red poppy.

However when the FA applied to do the same for this match, the request was turned down. Fifa secretary general Fatma Samoura, who is originally from Senegal, questioned why the English believed they were entitled to be treated differently to other countries within Fifa.

Britain is not the only country that has been suffering from the result of war. Syria is an example, said Samoura as quoted by The Guardian.

My own continent [Africa] has been torn by war for years. And the only question is why are we doing exceptions for just one country and not the rest of the world?

Samoura has refused to rule out sanctions if the sides wear poppies, potentially including the deduction of points - which would affect Englands chances of qualifying for the World Cup Finals in Russia in 2018. However, Martin Glenn said that he didnt think it would come to that.

We dont think we are breaking their law - we think they are misinterpreting it, said Glenn. Im confident it wont come to anything draconian.