Football: FIFA Warns England, Scotland Over Poppy Stance
Muhammad Rameez Published November 03, 2016 | 08:15 PM
LONDON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 03rd Nov, 2016 ) - FIFA general secretary Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura has warned England and Scotland they could face sanctions if their teams wear commemorative poppies in their November 11 game.
The football associations of England and Scotland have vowed to defy world governing body FIFA, which bans players from wearing political, commercial and religious symbols during matches. People in Britain wear poppies to remember the country's war dead and England's FA said it would be an "appropriate tribute" for the players to wear black armbands with red poppy emblems.
But Samoura told the BBC: "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.
The only question is why are we doing exceptions for just one country and not the rest of the world?" England play Scotland in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley on November 11, which was the date the Armistice was signed to end World War I in 1918.
Asked if the teams could be punished for defying the ban, Samoura said: "It is not really my ambition to punish anybody. "They just have to recognise themselves that they are part of the rules of the game and they should be ready to face any kind of sanctions or measures." FIFA could elect to dock points if England and Scotland do not respect the ban, but English FA chief executive Martin Glenn does not believe it will come to that.
"We don't think we are breaking their law -- we think they are misinterpreting it," he said. "I'm confident it won't come to anything draconian. "We are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the other home nations on this. We all feel very strongly. It's not a political symbol and I think most people would agree with us."
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Mired in crisis, Boeing reports another loss
Session Awarding Ceremony 2024 held at Cadet College Muzaffarabad
Austrian ski great Hirscher to make comeback under Dutch flag
Pakistan, Japan agrees to convene 'Economic Policy Dialogue'
FM Dar conveys deepest sympathy on torrential rains devastation in UAE
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
Osaka seals first win on clay since 2022 in Madrid
Earthquake jolts Karachi
Sindh minister orders operation after attack on police in Ghotki
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
More Stories From World
-
Football: English Championship table
59 minutes ago -
Time for 'democratic transition' in Venezuela: opposition candidate to AFP
1 hour ago -
Spain's Pedro Sanchez : a risk-taker with a flair for survival
1 hour ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 table
2 hours ago -
Nadal will only play French Open if he can 'compete well'
2 hours ago -
Ukraine, Israel, TikTok: the massive aid package before US Congress
2 hours ago
-
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
2 hours ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 results
2 hours ago -
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
3 hours ago -
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
3 hours ago -
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
4 hours ago -
Anger among Ukrainians in Poland as Kyiv halts passport renewals
4 hours ago