England and Germany to wear poppy armbands

ENGLAND and Germany players will wear black armbands bearing poppies for tomorrow’s friendly at Wembley. In a statement from the Football Association yesterday regarding the tribute in remembrance of members of the Armed Forces, chief executive Martin Glenn described it as ‘a show of solidarity and unity’. Glenn said: ‘Remembering and commemorating the men and women who have served this country is ingrained in our nation. We will be honouring them, both on and off the pitch, for our match against Germany. ‘I would like to thank the DFB (German Football Association) for also agreeing to wear the poppy for the match, in a show of solidarity and unity.’ DFB president Reinhard Grindel said: ‘I positively welcome the decision to allow both the English and the German national teams to wear poppy armbands, because these are not about political propaganda in any way. ‘They’re about remembering the kind of values that were kicked to the ground in two World Wars but are cherished by football: respect, tolerance and humanity.’