England WILL wear black armbands bearing poppies against Scotland defying out-of-touch Fifa rules

THE Football Association have confirmed England will wear black armbands bearing poppies against Scotland.

Fifa prohibits any political, religious or commercial messages on shirts.

PA:Press Association

But for the World Cup qualifier against the Auld Enemy, the FA have pushed ahead after being denied by the governing body and will now be able to show remembrance on Armistice Day by wearing the armbands.

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An FA statement confirmed the row over the poppies had now come to a conclusion in their favour on Wednesday evening.

It read: "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."

When the issue arose in 2011, a compromise was reached in which players were allowed to wear armbands with the poppy symbol.

Reuters

Reuters

The FAs of England and Scotland had asked Fifa for permission to do the same for the clash next week, but have been told that would breach the laws of the game.

Both nations had already outlined their intentions to go ahead and wear their poppies despite fears they could be hit with fines or even point deductions if they decide to go against the rules and commemorate hero soldiers.

Prime Minister Theresa May today condemned the international governing body over the “utterly outrageous ban” during Prime Minister’s Questions.

“I think the stance that has been taken by Fifa is utterly outrageous,” the PM said.

She continued: “Our football players want to recognise and respect those who have given their lives for our safety and security.

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“I think it is absolutely right that they should be able to do so.”

The PM also delivered a “clear message” from the House of Commons that the Government “wants our players to be able to wear those poppies”.

Responding to the backlash, Fifa Secretary General Fatma Samoura wrote an official letter in which she “drew attention to law four”, which states that “political or religious messages” are banned from all players’ shirts.

That meeting came as over 200,000 people signed a petition calling for footballers to be allowed to wear their poppies with pride.