England and Wales bottle it and won’t wear OneLove rainbow armband at World Cup

'We cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play'

England and Wales have backed down and decided not to wear OneLove armbands after a threat from FIFA that captains Harry Kane and Gareth Bale could face an instant yellow card for doing so. A statement issued on Monday reads: "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." The statement continued: "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." Related links:

• World Cup viewers don't think they can see any women in the opening game crowd
• Thousands of Qatar fans leave stadium at half-time of World Cup opener
• Gareth Southgate confirms England will take the knee before Iran game
• Qatar saved by questionable VAR call in opening minutes of World Cup opener
• Harry Kane to defy FIFA and wear One Love armband in World Cup opening against Iran