Harry Kane will no longer wear the 'One Love' armband in England's opening match at the World Cup.
The rainbow armband was due to be worn to promote diversity and inclusion in Qatar, where same-sex relationships are outlawed. England, Wales and seven other countries announced they were committing to donning the armband in the build-up to the tournament.
However, in an eleventh-hour U-turn, an FA statement on Monday morning said: "FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play. As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games.
"We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.
"We are very frustrated by the FIFA decision which we believe is unprecedented – we wrote to FIFA in September informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football, and had no response. Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways."
Wales also hit out at the decision after they confirmed they would no longer be wearing the armband on Monday morning. A statement read: "FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play.
"As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games.
"We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.
"We are very frustrated by the FIFA decision which we believe is unprecedented - we wrote to FIFA in September informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football, and had no response.
"Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways."
The Football Supporters Association also slammed the decision in a statement on Monday morning. It read: “To paraphrase FIFA president Gianni Infantino – today LGBT+ football supporters and their allies will feel angry. Today we feel betrayed. Today we feel contempt for an organisation that has shown its true values by giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance.
“Never again should a World Cup be handed out solely on the basis of money and infrastructure. No country which falls short on LGBT+ rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights or any other universal human right should be given the honour of hosting a World Cup.
"Since 2010 we have been raising questions about the suitability of Qatar as a World Cup host. Everyone could see this coming and it's astonishing that, on the morning of England's World Cup opener, FIFA are censoring players and the nine national FAs - including the FA and the FAW - who wish to share a positive message."
Speaking as recently as Sunday, Kane said: "I think we’ve made it clear as a team and a staff and organisation that we want to wear the armband. I know the FA are talking to FIFA at the moment, and I’m sure by game-time tomorrow they will have their decision. But, yeah, I think we’ve made it clear that we want to wear it."
England boss Gareth Southgate said before the match: "A lot of discussions have been going on without me involved because I’ve been focusing on the game. We are wearing the FIFA armband which has been agreed by collective federations which was agreed overnight I believe. We are in the middle of that, we’re trying to focus on the game frankly."
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham admitted on Monday that there was a "very real" risk that Kane would be booked if he wore the armband as planned.
Bullingham told the BBC : “It is a very live situation. There are discussions that are carrying on. We are working through those issues right now.
“It is true to say that Fifa did indicated yesterday that there could be sporting sanctions, that’s obviously something that we have to work through. We have been clear that we want to wear the armband. It is important to us. But equally we need to work through all of the discussions right now and see where we end up.”
