FIFA 'rejects England, Scotland request to wear poppy armbands'

FIFA has turned down a request from the football associations of England and Scotland for players to wear armbands featuring poppies on Armistice Day, according to the Scottish FA.

The two British nations meet in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley on November 11, the day when the United Kingdom traditionally remembers its war dead.

SFA chief Stewart Regan has claimed that FIFA, which bans political, religious or commercial messages on shirts, are 'sticking to the letter of the law'.

He told BBC Sport: "I can understand why they are doing this, but it is nothing more than a mark of respect.

"It is a personal choice. This is not about making some political point."

FIFA imposed a similar ban five years ago but eventually allowed England to wear poppies on black armbands in 2011 during the last international match to fall close to Remembrance Sunday.