FIFA allows England players to wear poppies on black armband against Spain

The FIFA has reportedly allowed England players to wear poppies on their black armbands for this Saturday’s prestige friendly against Spain, following a compromise with the Football Association.
 
According to The Telegraph, the decision was reached after a day of extraordinary interventions, including from both Prince William and Prime Minister David Cameron, who wrote to FIFA asking that the players’ shirts be embroidered with poppies.

This forced world football’s governing body to relent on its previously unshakeable stance.

Up until then, FIFA had made clear, despite protestations from the FA, that it considered placing a poppy on a player’s shirt as contravening its rules banning political, religious and commercial messages.

It is understood that despite the high-level interventions - the Duke of Cambridge is also president of the FA and wrote in that capacity - it was a discussion between Conservative MP Chris Heaton-Harris and Fifa general secretary Jérôme Valcke that helped broker a deal.