Tuesday 15 November 2016

The Politics Of Sport - When A Poppy Becomes State-Sanctioned Remembrance


By Shane Thomas

It's said that Christmas starts earlier every year. It increasingly feels the same regarding the wearing of poppies in November to commemorate Britain's Armed Forces. Two years ago, the cause célèbre was the wearing (or non-wearing) of the "poppy hijab". In 2016, it's football that is the site of controversy, as England played Scotland at Wembley last Friday. To mark Armistice Day, the players wore black armbands with poppies embroidered onto them. This was in deliberate contravention of FIFA regulations, which decree, "political, religious, commercial, personal statements, images and/or other announcements, is strictly prohibited."

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