The FA’s poppy stance is torn to ribbons

PEP GUARDIOLA defends wearing a yellow ribbon on the grounds it is not a political symbol but one of solidarity for Catalan separatists he believes are wrongly imprisoned. The Manchester City boss (left) argues he is a human being before he is a football manager and feels it’s his duty as a public figure to show solidarity with his own people when they’re dealt an injustice.

Which is the same argument Derry-born James McClean puts forward for not wearing the poppy, the difference being his people believe it is a political symbol of their country being occupied by the British.

So one man’s emblem of solidarity is another’s political stance. Who can decide? It’s just bizarre, when UEFA have no problem with Guardiola wearing that ribbon, that the FA – who argued so hard against the poppy being banned – should declare it political and reopen a very sensitive can of worms.

They must have so little else to worry about, eh?