Common sense is the first casualty of this tedious poppy row | Owen Gibson


There is a nagging feeling that the contrast between the manufactured controversy and the act of remembrance threatens to undermine the entire point of Armistice Day

So the ridiculous Poppygate saga has come to a conclusion. Of sorts. The English and Scottish football associations have declared they will bravely defy Fifa and their players will wear black armbands with poppies printed on them when they meet on Armistice Day. As they should, if they wish.

But has the gulf between the silliness of the debate and the seriousness of the cause ever been quite so wide?

Related: David Squires on … football and Remembrance Day

Related: Spare us the phoney poppy apoplexy | Marina Hyde

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