ITV pundit Roy Keane says Wales and England made "a big mistake" and should have stuck to their guns over the OneLove armband furore.
Keane echoed the words of Rio Ferdinand and Alan Shearer when criticising the football associations of Wales and England over their decision to pull out from wearing the armband at the World Cup.
Both sides had been determined to show their support for the campaign, which aims to "promote inclusion and send a message against discrimination of any kind" in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.
READ MORE: USA v Wales Live
However, FIFA warned competing nations that they would be punished with sanctions for making political messages, with Wales captain Gareth Bale expected to be yellow carded instantly at kick-off in Wales' contest with the USA on Monday. Before both sides' opening games, the FAW and the FA confirmed that they, along with five other nations, would no longer wear the armband, saying they could not put their players "in a position where they could face sporting sanctions".
Keane said: "I think the players should have done it for the first game, took the punishment, whatever that might be.
"(Harry) Kane, you are risking him getting a yellow card, if that was going to be the punishment That would have been a great statement, do it for the first game. What a message that would have been form Kane, or (Gareth) Bale. Take your medicine, in the next game you move on, you don't want to be getting suspended, I think it was a big mistake, obviously we are talking about Wales and England here, they should have stuck to their guns and just done it. Whatever pressure from outside, have the belief, that's your belief."
Wales manager Rob Page was interviewed pre-match and said the situation was "crazy".
"We're not happy, of course we're not," he said. "It's been made so late now towards the game that it's out of our control.
"There's nothing we can do about it. I'm not going to risk Gareth Bale going out onto the pitch already having a booking.
"It's crazy. It's not fair to ask the players to do that, and he's waited so long to play in a World Cup, if we were to do that and overrule it he'd be suspended for the third game and not play.
"It's absolutely crazy. We don't agree with it but it's just something we'll have to deal with."
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