FIFA say the poppy is a political symbol.

[Michael_W]

Has it not occurred to you that

 

1) The EU has no police force and therefore can't arrest anyone,

2) FIFA's headquarters is in Switzerland which isn't even an EU member,

3) You're a bit dim.

 

---------- Post added 02-11-2016 at 17:35 ----------

 

 

Ah. A Christian causes a world war in which tens of millions died but let's have a go at Muslims over it.

 

Jumped to the wrong conclusion again, go back and read it slowly .... two separate things and only you has mentioned Muslims

[ihpb]

http://www.fifa.com/media/news/y=2011/m=11/news=statement-england-shirts-and-the-use-the-poppy-1537881.html

 

What a joke, who listens to FIFA anyway.

[altus]

I was under the impression the poppy honoured all the dead from wars from whichever side of the conflicts.

I used to think so too and used to get annoyed at school when remembrance assemblies seemed so jingoistic. When I looked into it, it is largely limited to those who have been our allies.

 

As someone said earlier football managers from other countries have been seen on TV over the last few days, and not all from the allies side in two WWs.

 

It does increasingly seem to be that people are criticised for not wearing poppies these days - poppy facism as it seems to have become known. If someone is wearing a poppy because they are worried about what people with think of them if they don't it does undermine the supposed purpose of them in the first place.

 

I suspect the average injured soldier would rather the government fulfil the military covenant and provide a good level of support, medical and otherwise, rather than it have to be funded through charity by people buying poppies.

 

Personally, I think politicians should be banned from remembrance day commemorations - certainly the big ones like the one at the cenotaph. It's politicians who take us into war, they shouldn't be allowed to make political capital out of it. They should sit at home and quietly reflect on the part politicians play in our country going to war.

[gomgeg]

I used to think so too and used to get annoyed at school when remembrance assemblies seemed so jingoistic. When I looked into it, it is largely limited to those who have been our allies.

 

 

 

It does increasingly seem to be that people are criticised for not wearing poppies these days - poppy facism as it seems to have become known. If someone is wearing a poppy because they are worried about what people with think of them if they don't it does undermine the supposed purpose of them in the first place.

 

I suspect the average injured soldier would rather the government fulfil the military covenant and provide a good level of support, medical and otherwise, rather than it have to be funded through charity by people buying poppies.

 

Personally, I think politicians should be banned from remembrance day commemorations - certainly the big ones like the one at the cenotaph. It's politicians who take us into war, they shouldn't be allowed to make political capital out of it. They should sit at home and quietly reflect on the part politicians play in our country going to war.

You're probably right about the poppy fascism, personally I don't care whether someone wears it or not, it just happens to be my personal choice.

I'm probably of an older vintage than you and went to school in the late 40s and 50s just after WW2 and can't remember any jingoistic assemblies back then, in fact a lot who'd gone through the war including my own dad didn't say much about it at all.

[Jerky]

I understand why they should be worn, i hate to say it but iam with fifa on this one, you cant just bend the rules. If they are allowed to wear them, fifa would have to give in to other countries pressure. Either religious and political statements are allowed or not allowed. It should be changed but each case has their own argument for being allowed to display stuff. Your not allowed....no exceptions

[Bonzo77]

Tha' talks poppycock, it's people like you who have demonised anything patriotic by automatically linking it to the 'Far Right', hence plenty of non 'Far Right' people then choose to display those same symbols and you and your ilk then label them 'Far Right'

As for the comment about the war, the vast majority of those who fought were conscripted, regardless of political persuasion or opinion generally, by a government who had declared it such, and not because Hitler was a racist dictator ...... also some faiths demonise themselves

The argument here is actually that FIFA see the poppy as a political symbol pretty much like you have described it, so they are as deluded as you.

 

I don't see it as a political symbol you plonker! That was the whole point. Unfortunately it has been hijacked, not just by the far right but also by other extremists that see it as offensive. The poppy, the English flag, anything patriotic, is manipulated as a weapon and I think it's a shame.

[RootsBooster]

I understand why they should be worn, i hate to say it but iam with fifa on this one, you cant just bend the rules. If they are allowed to wear them, fifa would have to give in to other countries pressure. Either religious and political statements are allowed or not allowed. It should be changed but each case has their own argument for being allowed to display stuff. Your not allowed....no exceptions

 

What political statement is it that you think poppies are making?

[RJRB]

Buying and wearing a poppy is a personal decision of remembrance and also a donation to that charity.

Wearing it as part of the kit is pretty meaningless to me,but I hope the players do support it and buy their own poppies.

I support FIFA on this one(which is a rarity)and think that Theresa May should keep out of the discussion.

[Bob Arctor]

I see the Prime Minister, Britain's most senior politician, has intervened in an effort to emphasise how non-political the poppy is.

[hauxwell]

I don't believe it is a political statement, it is remembering all the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. My late father who was in the Far East for over five years during the Second World War always wore a poppy and would go to the cenotaph in Sheffield on Remembrance Sunday to think about his friends who never came back and the suffering they had to endure.

He was also a football supporter and when able he would go to the match. What next ban these old soldiers from wearing their Poppy's in football grounds?