Wembley arch will no longer be lit for political causes

The FA faced criticism for not lighting the arch in the colours of the Israeli flag

The decision has been taken in response to the criticism the FA received for not lighting the arch in the colours of the Israel flag following attacks on the country by Hamas in October.

Israel then retaliated with air strikes on Gaza, and stopped food, water, fuel and medicine going into the territory.

A period of silence was held at Wembley during the October international break.

The decision not to light the arch was described as "disappointing" by the UK government, and Rabbi Alex Goldberg resigned from an FA faith in football group.

FA senior officials had said that they had acted on "expert advice" before accepting the episode had caused hurt to the Jewish community, describing it as "one of the hardest decisions" they had ever had to make.

Now, as reported by The Telegraph, the FA will not only restrict lighting the arches for football and entertainment purposes as oppose to any political messages.

They will still support a number of diversity and equality causes and campaigns but will not light the arch as they previously would've. This also applies when there are natural disasters or tragedies.

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