By Quentin Langley

"€100k in used notes might make poppies less political, say FIFA" according to the satirical news site, Newsthump. Even FIFA is not usually this blatant, but it demonstrates the moral standing of FIFA that this barely qualifies as satire. 

The row has arisen before. FIFA has a longstanding policy of banning "political" statements on football strips at its games. The national teams of England and Scotland are to play a World Cup qualifying match on November 11th – Armistice Day in Europe, known as Veterans' Day in the US. In the UK and other Commonwealth countries, the poppy is the symbol of the annual Armistice Day appeal. Newsreaders and politicians generally wear poppies in the weeks before Armistice Day, and would face public criticism if they chose not to do so. 

While "political" symbols are banned, national symbols are not. Indeed, the whole point of the football strip in an international match is to distinguish players of one nation from players of another. The English lion and the Scottish thistle are part of the strip. 

Armistice Day is not a national holiday in Britain, but it is in most of Europe and in the US. If other countries make this commemoration a national holiday, surely it can be accepted as national branding in the UK as well. But FIFA is not likely to accept this, absent the "donation" in used notes.