Scottish FA CEO Stewart Regan is "prepared to challenge" any FIFA sanction imposed for Scotland players wearing poppies on armbands at Wembley, according to Phil Goodlad of the BBC. The SFA and the FA are "likely to fall foul" of FIFA rules when the players display poppies at the England-Scotland match next Friday -- Armistice Day. Regan: "We think that FIFA is misinterpreting the rules and we would be prepared to challenge that. It's not a political statement." Regan said that his organization "will point to a precedent involving the Scotland team." On Armistice Day in '11, Scotland players "wore poppies on armbands and on their tracksuits in a match against Cyprus" (BBC, 11/3). The BBC reported Arsenal Manager Arsène Wenger said that FIFA is "wrong to ban poppies on shirts." World football's governing body prohibits political, religious or commercial messages on shirts. Wenger: "By wanting to be too politically correct you can go sometimes against tradition. In this case, I think that is part of the English culture that I love. They respect tradition and they respect people who have given their life for the country" (BBC, 11/3).
