FIFA Opens Disciplinary Case Against England, Scotland for Wearing Poppies

FIFA have officially opened disciplinary cases against the English and Scottish Football Association after the two teams wore armbands with poppies on them in a 2018 World Cup qualifier on November 11.

As reported by the Associated Press, both organisations were warned not to wear poppies on their kits ahead of the match, as FIFA ban associations from adding symbols they consider religious, political or personal to their uniforms.

Per the report, both associations face a fine. Both the English and Scottish FA have already made it clear they'll face the consequences, according to the AP.    

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The remembrance poppy is a common symbol in the United Kingdom during the month of November, with all of the Premier League clubs adding the flower to their kit.

The symbol is also a regular sight on the streets and television, and when FIFA announced they would not allow Scotland and England to add the flower to their kits, the decision did not go down well.

Even prime minister Theresa May weighed in on the controversy, per Jessica Elgot of the Guardian: "Our football players want to recognise and respect those who have given their lives for our safety and security, I think it is absolutely right they should be able to do so."

Mark Austin of ITV Evening News didn't like FIFA's decision one bit:

FIFA did warn both associations there would be sanctions, so the news shouldn't come as a surprise.

While the poppy is a symbol of remembrance and respect for the military in most of the United Kingdom, that isn't the case everywhere.

West Bromwich Albion's James McClean faces criticism for refusing to wear the poppy on a yearly basis, despite penning an open letter explaining the decision in 2014, via SportsJoe.ie's Conan Doherty:

"

I have complete respect for those who fought and died in both World Wars.

I mourn their deaths like every other decent person and if the Poppy was a symbol only for the lost souls of World War I and II I would wear one.

I want to make that 100% clear. You must understand this.

But the Poppy is used to remember victims of other conflicts since 1945 and this is where the problem starts for me.

For people from the North of Ireland such as myself, and specifically those in Derry, scene of the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, the poppy has come to mean something very different.

[...] 

For me to wear a poppy would be as much a gesture of disrespect for the innocent people who lost their lives in the Troubles – and Bloody Sunday especially - as I have in the past been accused of disrespecting the victims of WWI and WWII.

"

Per ESPN FC, the English FA were given a similar ban in 2011, when a match against Spain fell close to Armistice Day. For that match, FIFA did not allow the Three Lions to add embroidered poppies to their shirts, but they did sign off on armbands similar to those used on Friday against Scotland.