What a load of Poppycock

On November 11^th 1987, England played Yugoslavia and won the game by 3 goals to 2. I would imagine this means very little to anyone but perhaps the most ardent England fan, it’s certainly not a game I remember for any reason at all. But perhaps I should have done and perhaps you should have done, because on this day, the 69^th anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I, no England player was wearing a poppy.

I’m a big supporter of anything to do with Remembrance Sunday or Armistice Day. I observe a minute of silence at 11am, I buy and wear a poppy as I have done since I was a child, I go to Remembrance Sunday services and often watch in awe the procession of veterans from various conflicts at the Cenotaph. I grew up during the Falklands War, I know people who served in the Gulf and Afghanistan, anyone who takes up arms in the name has my immediate respect because I know it’s something I would utterly fail to do. I may not, and generally don’t agree with the reasons behind going to war, particularly in the last decade or so, but I can separate the servicemen from the politics.

Over the last couple of years, around this time of year poppys have started appearing on team’s shirts, particularly in the Premier League, and the England team’s main sponsors, Vauxhall, are heavily linked with the Help for Heroes Charity for servicemen. It makes sense therefore for the FA to want the side on Saturday evening to display poppies on their shirts for the friendly with Spain.

This however, goes against FIFA regulations with regards to personal, political and religious slogans, which seems sensible given the promotion of football being one family and such like. Therefore, they have banned poppies from the players shirts. Again, this to me makes absolute sense. What I didn’t expect was for this move to light the blue touch paper and send the British media, footballing world and general public as a whole into complete reactionary meltdown.

I can understand the FA being disappointed, I can understand the FA appealing the decision. I can equally understand FIFA being wary of being seen allowing a precedent by granting the FA’s request. I can even understand to a level the outpouring of nonsense from sections of the media, afterall, it’s simply how they operate in this country. What baffles me most (although is in no way surprising given the rhetoric after various recent events) is the response of leading members of the British Government. Sports Minister Hugh Robertson has written to FIFA asking for permission for English and Welsh players to wear poppies commenting ‘Wearing a poppy is a display of national pride, just like wearing you country’s football shirt’ completely ignoring the dubious merit some players appear to give the wearing of their country’s football shirt before continuing ‘The British public feel very strongly about this issue – it is not religious or political in any way’ and overlooking the fact that by interfering in the ‘dispute’ and writing to FIFA, he has just gone and made the whole affair overtly political. Our esteemed Prime Minister has helpfully waded into the debate and rather than saying ‘you know what, I’ve got better things to discuss this morning,’ instead described FIFA’s decision as ‘outrageous’. Is it any wonder England failed to garner much support for their World Cup bid when this man was one of our leading ambassadors at the vote?

The FA have since said that the players will wear poppies on their training tops, that a wreath will be laid in the centre circle during the anthems, that the players will be wearing black armbands and that there will be a minute’s silence before kick off. Surely this is enough, non? The British Legion, who perhaps should be best placed to comment, have said that poppies on the player’s shirts isn’t necessary. Why then the tidal wave of bitterness?

I genuinely think people are missing the point of wearing a poppy if they’re wearing it as a display of national pride. I was brought up that we wore a poppy to remember the sacrifices made by other people in the hope that we wouldn’t have to live through the horrors they did. And that continues today with British servicemen and women serving abroad. They have my everlasting gratitude for their sacrifices, they don’t need me to pompously misuse the poppy as a sign of Britishness or needlessly use it to browbeat FIFA for something that wasn’t essential 24 years ago. Just what exactly has changed in that period that makes a poppy so vital for 90 minutes? I’ve seen it described this morning as ‘traditional’ in this country. It takes longer than a couple of years to build a tradition. Veterans and servicepeople aren’t going to denigrate footballers for not displaying it for 90 minutes at the weekend. So let’s drop it now shall we and stop trying to divert the attention away from what is likely to be another painful footballing lesson at the hands of the Spanish.

If only the FA and government put as much effort into youth coaching….