THE FA have vowed to fight Fifa if England are fined for wearing poppies against Scotland tonight.
Both teams will wear black armbands with poppy motifs to mark Armistice Day, even though world football chiefs are certain to bring charges.
FA chief executive Martin Glenn said: “We will contest it because, and we have legal opinion on this, we believe our case is rock-solid — so good luck with it.
Keep up to date with ALL the football news, gossip and transfers on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
“And if there were something, I am sure we could persuade them to divert the fine into supporting the British Legion. But I am very confident it will not come to that.”
Fifa rules forbid teams from wearing political, commercial or religious symbols during matches — although England were allowed to wear poppies for a game against Spain in November 2011.
Wales and Northern Ireland have decided not to wear poppies at all this weekend for fear of a fine or possible points deduction.
Speaking at the Sports Industry Breakfast Club, Glenn added: “A couple of weeks ago we told Fifa, in line with what we agreed with them in 2011, that we would wear armbands, not a poppy embedded in the shirt because Fifa have a law of the game that you cannot use political symbols on shirts.
“We had a row with them in 2011 and thought we had got over it.
“Unfortunately, with the new personalities coming in, they wanted to make a bit of a stand which is very disappointing.
“I had hoped to resolve it quietly but these things never happen quietly. That forced us to be clear about our position, which is we are going to wear them. We think they are interpreting the rules wrongly.
This is a law of the game issue, not a Fifa competition issue."
RELATED STORIES
“In England over the last couple of weekends, clubs have worn poppies on the shirts which is also a breach of regulations and nothing has happened.
“Why have they done nothing about that? So I am very confident that our legal position is right. Our moral position is certainly right.
“There are bigger things for Fifa to worry about.”
Fifa has just charged the FAI over a shirt logo worn by the Republic of Ireland in March to commemorate the 100th anniversary of an uprising against British rule.
Leave a comment