LISTEN: FIFA "sticking to the letter of the law" on poppies - says SFA chief exec
FIFA have turned down a request to allow players from Scotland and England to wear poppies on armbands during next week's World Cup qualifiers.
FIFA have turned down a request to allow players from Scotland and England to wear poppies on armbands during next week's World Cup qualifiers.
The Scottish Football Associations had asked FIFA if they would be punished for wearing poppies on armbands during their games, but FIFA say they won't permit teams to do so.
Scotland are due to play England at Wembley on November 11, which falls on Armistice Day.
Here's SFA chief executive Stewart Regan:
England wore armbands with poppies on them when they played Spain on November 12, 2011. Scotland also did in Cyprus and Wales when they hosted Norway that same year.
A spokesperson for the Royal British Legion, the charity that organises the Poppy Appeal in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, said: "We see no reason why the poppy should be banned from players' shirts as it is not a political symbol.
"However, we understand a compromise will be found in armbands with the poppy on so that England players will enter the competition knowing they have shown respect for our armed forces.
"We are working closely with the FA to ensure the commitment and sacrifice of our Armed Forces is recognised during the Armistice Day match at Wembley."
A statement from the FA confirmed that it wanted to "honour and remember the sacrifices made by those serving in the armed forces" and said it had "led remembrance discussions with FIFA to allow the England team to show its support for the Poppy Appeal" during the eagerly-anticipated game against Scotland.
The matter has stirred political debate with Scottish Labour's Westminster spokesman Ian Murray MP submitting an Early Day Motion for a debate on the matter in the House of Commons.
Murray said: "FIFA must allow the national teams of both England and Scotland to commemorate those (who) gave the ultimate sacrifice by wearing the poppy in the World Cup qualifying match on Armistice Day.
"The poppy is a worldwide symbol of solidarity, peace and remembrance.
"This year, commemorations are additionally poignant as it is the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, when so many on all sides fell."
UKIP leadership candidate Paul Nuttall, a North West MEP, said the ban was "complete poppycock".
"It is utter nonsense for FIFA to forbid them wearing poppies on their shirts because they sniffily consider it 'a political statement'," said Nuttall.
"It makes my blood absolutely boil that they should interfere in this way. How dare they?"
Sports minister Tracey Crouch struck a more conciliatory tone, telling The Sun that "footballers representing Home Nations should, if they choose, be able to wear their poppies with pride" to honour the sacrifices of those who have died in conflict and support veterans.
"To have our players compete with poppies on their shirts would be particularly poignant as we continue to commemorate the centenary of the First World War," Crouch added.
The issue of wearing of a poppy, the red flower that grows wildly in many of the fields in Belgium and northern France that saw the worst fighting of World War One, is not entirely without controversy.
Northern Ireland play Azerbaijan on Armistice Day but the poppy is a divisive symbol in the country because of its perceived link with the British armed forces and is therefore deeply unpopular with the nationalist community.
For this year's poppy appeal, which was traditionally associated with First and Second World Wars, the Royal British Legion is asking the public "to rethink remembrance" so that servicemen and women from more recent conflicts are remembered.
The appeal is the charity's biggest annual fundraiser.