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England to wear poppy armbands against Scotland - Football Association

England's players will wear black armbands bearing poppies when they play Scotland at Wembley on Armistice Day, the Football Association has said.

The announcement, on Wednesday, came after British Prime Minister Theresa May hit out at FIFA over what she called an "outrageous" ban on international players wearing poppies.

On Tuesday, it had been reported that FIFA looked set to allow players from England, Scotland and Wales to wear poppies on armbands during next week's World Cup qualifiers.

Such a decision would have repeated a precedent set in 2011 and in a statement released on Wednesday evening, the FA said: "The poppy is an important symbol of remembrance.

"We do not believe it represents a political, religious or commercial message, nor does it relate to any one historical event.

"In keeping with the position agreed with FIFA back in 2011, the FA intends to pay appropriate tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice by having the England team wear black armbands bearing poppies in our fixture on Armistice Day."

England and Scotland meet at Wembley on Nov. 11 and there had been hopes that players would be able to wear commemorative shirts to honour those who gave their lives in conflict.

FIFA turned down that request because its regulations say teams may not display political, religious or commercial symbols on their kits.

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, May told MPs: "I think the stance that has been taken by FIFA is utterly outrageous.

"Our football players want to recognise and respect those who have given their lives for our safety and security."

She said there was a "clear message" from the House of Commons that "we want our players to be able to wear those poppies."

Speaking earlier on Wednesday, FA chairman Greg Clarke told ITV: "My personal opinion, and actually the same opinion I hold as the chair of the FA, is that of course we should wear poppies.

"We're negotiating in good faith with FIFA to try and find a solution, but there will be poppies at Wembley."

A FIFA spokesperson told Press Association Sport that its rules "are applied uniformly in the event of similar requests by any member association to commemorate similar historical events.''