#AgainstModernFootball - poppy outrage

Certain things are guaranteed to happen at this time of year. That one colleague will take things too far at the office Halloween party, dressing up as something grossly inappropriate, Christmas adverts start to run way, way too early, the orange ball is pulled out of storage Arsenal collapse and invariably there is controversy over some sort of ban on the poppy in football.

They might as well pencil it into the calendar along with Remembrance Day itself, and just as it does every year poppy outrage made front page news on Tuesday. “FIFA’s POPPY BLOCK,” The Sun’s headline exclaimed, ‘complete with obligatory poppy graphic.“Fury as cold-blooded Fifa chiefs ban England and Scotland players from wearing poppies on shirts during World Cup qualifying match,” it continued. Cold-blooded, indeed.

But whether you believe FIFA to be in the wrong or not over their stance on political symbols and emblems (as the poppy is deemed to be) on football shirts, the rules that mean England and Scotland will face each other in poppy-free kits later this month have been in place for years. It was the same when England faced Spain in a Remembrance Day friendly back in 2011, with FIFA eventually allowing poppies to be shown on black armbands worn by the players.

So why the surprise at FIFA’s stance? A cynic would accuse the tabloid press of stirring up outrage and warping what has actually happened purely to shift copies. England and Scotland haven’t been banned at all from wearing poppies on their shirts. Rules are simply being adhered to. Is that really worthy of a front page splash?

It has raised the discussion over the poppy’s place in football and whether it should have one at all. The Sun’s editorial opinion that wearing one “is not a political statement” gives away their intent to stir up outrage, because no matter your feelings on Remembrance Day it’s impossible to deny that the poppy indeed has political connotations. And even if it means nothing to you it certainly will mean something to someone else.

All this bypasses the true purpose of Remembrance Day, though. Remembrance happens in the mind, not on the shirts of some international football players. The poppy is emblematic of something greater, yet perennial outrage at football’s stance on it completely overlooks this.

James McClean has bore the brunt of this faux outrage over the poppy in football. “Irish football refuses to wear poppy AGAIN,” screamed another tabloid headline last week. Were they really so surprised given that McClean has exercised his right not to wear a poppy every single year since he became a Premier League footballer five years ago? Just like The Sun’s rehashing of the ‘FIFA poppy ban’ story, it’s an easy subject guaranteed to draw attention, and therefore readers.

It matters not that McClean once wrote an intelligent and well-reasoned open letter addressing his refusal to wear a poppy. It matters not that hailing from Derry, where 14 unarmed civilians were killed by the British military on Bloody Sunday, he has legitimate reasons not to wear a poppy, he’s still pilloried every year for supposedly disrespecting the war dead. It’s as if so many are deliberately obtuse about the issue.

The poppy is a mark of remembrance and remembrance means something different to different people. It shouldn’t be obligatory and there most certainly should be no outrage at the upholding of clearly justifiable rules for a football match. If players wish to remember the war dead they can do it in a far more meaningful way than just wearing a poppy on their kit.

But rest assured, when November rolls round once again next year the same contrived controversy will make headlines. Football’s poppy fascism is reflective of how society as a whole sees the issue, with poppies welded on to the lapels of television personalities for the best part of a month around this time of year. Downing Street even felt the need last year to photoshop a comically oversized poppy on to an image of David Cameron when he was spotted without one.

Unfortunately reasoned discourse is the folly of fools, with those who shout loudest, regardless of what is being, paid the most attention. Modern football has been cursed by faux poppy outrage and it won’t be lifted any time soon.