Fifa opens case over England/Scotland wearing poppies

[Hazardousman]

http://www.skysports.com/football/n...inst-england-and-scotland-for-wearing-poppies


FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against England and Scotland for wearing poppies during last Friday's World Cup qualifier

The two countries stood shoulder to shoulder in defiance of a governing body rule at Wembley, wearing black armands with the remembrance poppy in honour of Armistice Day.

FA chief executive Martin Glenn warned FIFA they would fight any possible punishment ahead of the fixture and insisted their legal case was "rock solid".

But on Thursday, FIFA announced: "We can confirm disciplinary proceedings have been opened on this matter.

"Please understand we cannot comment further at this stage nor speculate on any outcome or provide an estimated timeline."

After a week of confusion over whether wearing the symbol would amount to breaking FIFA's Law Four, the 22 players in white and pink stood for a minute's silence in memory of members of the armed forces who have lost their lives.

The match-day programme also featured the poppy on the cover and the flower was shown on the Wembley screens, as FA chairman Greg Clarke and SFA president Alan McRae stood on the touchline alongside senior representatives from the British Army, Navy and RAF moments before kick-off.

After both country's national anthems were respectfully observed, the 'Last Post' trumpet melody echoed around Wembley during the moment's silence and, behind the Wembley goals, England fans wore red and white t-shirts, bearing the poppy, to form the St George's Cross.

Writing in a special match-day programme, FA chairman Clarke said: "We will of course be marking the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal at tonight's fixture.

"We welcome those serving soldiers we have invited as part of ongoing support for the Tickets for Troops cause and I would also like to pay tribute to the work of the Commonwealth War Groves Commission, and their Living Memory
campaign.

"At the FA, and on Armistice Day, we feel it entirely appropriate that we join with the nation, our fans in the stadium and those watching on TV to commemorate those made the ultimate sacrifice. We will remember them."


Also worth nothing from this BBC article http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37972265 that
the secretary general, Fatma Samoura told BBC Sport last week: "We have to apply uniformly and across the 211 member associations the laws of the game.

"Britain is not the only country that has been suffering from the result of war."

Am I the only one really pissed off by this? Another example of trying to pander so we don't offend people when they don't even know what they are offended about in the first place, poppies do not represent anything political, they represent the loss of life in war and supporting families in the western world who have lost family members.

 

[Dougal]

We know how this works. FIFA open case. Case is filled with money. FIFA close case and walk away.

 

[Mr.D]

They can shit in their collective hat and punch it. Tossers.

 

[al_pacino]

Throw the book at them.



Try an Andrew Jennings one the corrupt fuckers.

 

[kaz Hirai]

Don't see a problem

If fifa told the FA before the game that the poppy is a breach of THEIR rules regardless of whether the rule is stupid or not, well thems the rules and the 2 FAs chose to break it so of course there would be consequences.

 

[Hazardousman]

Don't see a problem

If fifa told the FA before the game that the poppy is a breach of THEIR rules regardless of whether the rule us stupid or not, well thems the rules and the 2 FAs chose to break it so of course there would be consequences.

The problem is the ridiculous rule being there in the first place though.

 

[Mustard]

The problem is the ridiculous rule being there in the first place though.

As much as I despise FIFA they have a point.

Where does it end?

What if Serbia wore a symbol to commemorate their war dead when playing Croatia? Iran when playing Iraq.

I get the nuance that there wouldn't be a FIFA if it wasn't for our forefathers sacrifice but having a blanket ban does make sense.

We will get a £100k fine which we won't pay for years and will eventually be commuted to 12k or something.

 

[Danners9]

As much as I despise FIFA they have a point.

Where does it end?

What if Serbia wore a symbol to commemorate their war dead when playing Croatia? Iran when playing Iraq.
.

This is exactly it and why they have this rule.

As in the other thread, it wasn't an issue last time and the wore armbands, which was fine. This became whipped up into much more than it needed to be and here's the result, which they said would happen right at the start.

 

[kr1978]

As much as I despise FIFA they have a point.

Where does it end?

What if Serbia wore a symbol to commemorate their war dead when playing Croatia? Iran when playing Iraq.

I get the nuance that there wouldn't be a FIFA if it wasn't for our forefathers sacrifice but having a blanket ban does make sense.

We will get a £100k fine which we won't pay for years and will eventually be commuted to 12k or something.

There was a very good article in one of the papers the other day about this which I will try and dig out tomorrow, but it is worth remembering that the England team (and PL teams) managed to play until 2010 without poppies until it became a major thing in certain sections of the media. Prior to then a wreath or black armbands sufficed without any objection and as much as I support the intent and meaning behind wearing a poppy its meaning is being reduced by effectively turning it into a socially compulsory gesture.

 

[Mustard]

There was a very good article in one of the papers the other day about this which I will try and dig out tomorrow, but it is worth remembering that the England team (and PL teams) managed to play until 2010 without poppies until it became a major thing in certain sections of the media. Prior to then a wreath or black armbands sufficed without any objection and as much as I support the intent and meaning behind wearing a poppy its meaning is being reduced by effectively turning it into a socially compulsory gesture.

I'd like to think that this year was because of the Somme. But it wasn't. It was to shift a few more papers.

World War One is something that deeply interests me because of family history. But even I find this quite hysterical. The print media as always never quite get it. And as always the FA follow the back pages like toads after warts. Gareth Southgate isn't a wart, although cashing in on missing a penalty with Pizza Huts money always jarred... And now because of a few friendly back page journos and buddies in the commentary business he will get the gig.

He is shit. His best performance was when the likes of Rose, Kane, Sturridge ripped up the under 21's once. It wasn't tactics.

Those tournaments never are.

The FA never get what the fans think. They are old. Very old men. Very old white men. Clueless.

I'm not saying very old white men cant be good.

Just the FA ones who have always made the wrong decision.

 

[whitesocks]

Time to take back control of our game - lets Fifexit.
It costs us a £50m a day membership fee - we could spend that on creating pitches for disabled children.
And we can have a world cup in England every 4 years - everyone would come.

 

[Mustard]

Time to take back control of our game - lets Fifexit.
It costs us a £50m a day membership fee - we could spend that on creating pitches for disabled children.
And we can have a world cup in England every 4 years - everyone would come.

You joke but I bet if we did renounce FIFA and started our own competition with friendly now incorruptible countries such as the yanks, Scandinavians, the Dutch, French, Australia etc.

It would make them think.

Boycott Qatar and Russia would sit well with me.

 

[ethanedwards]

The problem is the ridiculous rule being there in the first place though.

Not everyone wears a poppy. What happens if a player says I don't want a poppy on my shirt?

 

[Hazardousman]

Not everyone wears a poppy. What happens if a player says I don't want a poppy on my shirt?

Then that's a choice, nobody is forcing players to wear poppies, the only thing being forced is them not wearing poppies.

I don't understand your question?

 

[Hazardousman]

As much as I despise FIFA they have a point.

Where does it end?

What if Serbia wore a symbol to commemorate their war dead when playing Croatia? Iran when playing Iraq.

I get the nuance that there wouldn't be a FIFA if it wasn't for our forefathers sacrifice but having a blanket ban does make sense.

We will get a £100k fine which we won't pay for years and will eventually be commuted to 12k or something.

Why shouldn't countries be allowed to commmerate their dead though? I don't see how mourning the lives of the dead is a political statement, poppies aren't political, that's the problem in modern society, whatever offends someone gets banned even when that very thing is being misinterpreted.

 

[Mustard]

Why shouldn't countries be allowed to commmerate their dead though? I don't see how mourning the lives of the dead is a political statement, poppies aren't political, that's the problem in modern society, whatever offends someone gets banned even when that very thing is being misinterpreted.

It's just easier not to have that situation.

This isn't a sjw thing.

We, everyone, can still commemorate our war dead in the same high respect without having some millionaires running around a pitch with a poppy badge on. I don't see why it's that important tbh.

Most of the idiots wearing the shirt don't have a clue what it means anyway.

 

[Danners9]

This is what happened when a drone dropped a Greater Albania flag during a game vs Serbia. // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia_v_Albania_(UEFA_Euro_2016_qualifying)

Zooming out a little bit, commemorating dead might seem fine to one country, but to another it means something else.

It has to be one rule for all.

If there is something else around that date, do something outside of FIFA's rules - like lay wreaths, which they have done before, like a minute of silence, which they have done before. Why did this even become a problem? it didn't have to be.

 

[talkshowhost86]

There was a very good article in one of the papers the other day about this which I will try and dig out tomorrow, but it is worth remembering that the England team (and PL teams) managed to play until 2010 without poppies until it became a major thing in certain sections of the media. Prior to then a wreath or black armbands sufficed without any objection and as much as I support the intent and meaning behind wearing a poppy its meaning is being reduced by effectively turning it into a socially compulsory gesture.

I think there's a certain nationalism creeping into poppy-wearing now, fueled by the likes of the Mail and the Express, which is a shame as it's clearly not what the poppy is meant to represent.

This whole ludicrous situation will just serve to increase that I suspect.

Really don't know why we made such a big deal about it. There were poppies everywhere in the stadium. We could have worn just a black armband as we did previously. Nobody was stopping anyone remembering the war dead. Just asking them not to put it on the kit. Don't think either FA can complain when they receive the tiny fine that they get.

What will be interesting is to compare the fine to those given to FAs who have had violent/racist crowd issues recently. If it's anywhere near the same level there will be media-hyped pandemonium.

 

[ethanedwards]

Then that's a choice, nobody is forcing players to wear poppies, the only thing being forced is them not wearing poppies.

I don't understand your question?

Anyone who asked not to wear a poppy would be vilified by the red tops, remember James McClean last year.
Unfortunately the poppy has been politicised by ultra right wing groups and loyalist paramilitaries.
The RBL has had to go to court to prevent the likes of Britain First using the poppy as a recruiting symbol.

 

[Danners9]

Also, just to say, FIFA enforce the rules.. but the laws are made by the International Football Association Board which is made up by:

The IFAB is made up of the four British football associations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and FIFA.

According to their website: http://www.theifab.com/#!/structure

So this is a bit awkward. England and Scotland defying the rules their own FAs helped to make? FA Chief Martin Glenn says their case is 'rock solid'.