If you’re a fan of the Premier League you’ll know that every year around this time there’s always ‘Poppy’ drama, where certain players refuse to wear the poppy emblem on or around Armistice Day.

The official date is November 11, and the day commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I back in 1918.

History lesson over, because now we move on to the squabbles between the Football Associations of England and Scotland (FA) and FIFA.

England and Scotland are due to meet on November 11 for a World Cup 2018 qualifier, and other than the hatred between the two sets of supporters it’s one to keep an eye on.

This from the BBC:

The FAs will let players wear black armbands with poppy emblems and are willing to accept any punishment.

Fifa general secretary Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura told BBC Sport “any kind of sanction” could follow.

World football’s governing body prohibits political, religious or commercial messages on shirts.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has called the rule “outrageous”.

The FIFA sanctions could include a points deduction, although you’d imagine there would be rioting in the streets if that’s the way they chose to go.

The two bodies may still reach a resolution though:

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

Both FAs say they are continuing to negotiate with Fifa and are hopeful of finding an amicable solution, but Samoura questioned why an exception should be made for England, Scotland and Wales.

“We have to apply uniformly and across the 211 member associations the laws of the game,” she said.

“Britain is not the only country that has been suffering from the result of war. The only question is why are we doing exceptions for just one country and not the rest of the world?”

The saga rolls on, whilst over on our shores we have slightly bigger fish to fry.

[source:bbc]