
<p>Police are in full force outside of Wembley Stadium on Friday evening. The <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/nations/england-national-team-tv-schedule/">England</a> national team is hosting <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/nations/australia-national-team-tv-schedule/">Australia</a> in a friendly at the arena. While friendlies tend to be fairly subdued, tension is building ahead of Friday’s matchup.</p>



<p>The Football Association (FA) revealed on Thursday that the England players will wear black armbands for the aforementioned game. The decision is due to the traumatic ongoing events in Israel and Palestine. There will also be a minute of silence prior to Friday’s kickoff as well.</p>



<p>Along with the symbolic gestures, the FA also announced a ban on Israel and Palestine flags inside Wembley for England’s next two games. “Following discussions with partners and external stakeholders, we will only permit flags, replica kits and other representations of nationality for the competing nations inside Wembley Stadium for the upcoming matches against Australia and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/nations/italy-national-team-tv-schedule/">Italy</a>,” <a href="https://www.thefa.com/news/2023/oct/12/statement-wembley-remembers-victims-of-conflict-in-israel-palestine-20231210" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">read</a> the statement.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FA statement on flags ban : “It is important to clarify that our decision not to allow Israeli or Palestine flags into Wembley Stadium was made at the direct request of senior members of the Jewish community."</p>— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) <a href="https://twitter.com/martynziegler/status/1712791509722857955?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h5>Leading Jewish figures condemn lack of move by FA</h5>



<p>The FA’s decision comes as English officials denied a request to light up Wembley in Israeli blue and white colors. John Mann, England’s antisemitism tsar, lambasted the decision and called on high-ranking FA officials to resign. “It’s not good enough,” Mann <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/oct/12/fa-silence-israel-palestine-victims-bans-flags-england-australia-wembley-arch#:~:text=On%20a%20day%20when%20the,kits%20and%20flags%20into%20Wembley" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> of the minute’s silence. “I advised them earlier this week that a minute’s silence wasn’t a good idea.” </p>



<p>“There’ll be no Jewish people there as it’s Shabbat. This week everyone will be at home with their families. To have a minute’s silence with no Jewish people there when it’s Jewish people murdered … doesn’t work.”</p>



<p>“I told them to light the arch as they’ve done before [with Ukraine]. I said: ‘You could do it with the Israeli flag but what would be more appropriate as you don’t want to be political is do it in blue and white’ – the Jewish religious colors because it’s actual solidarity with the British Jewish community.”</p>



<h2>Palestine organization applauds England not taking sides with Israel at Wembley</h2>



<p>The decision was, however, applauded by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in the United Kingdom. “We welcome the FA’s decision and its resistance to pressure from the government and other political leaders,” a spokesperson <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/oct/12/fa-silence-israel-palestine-victims-bans-flags-england-australia-wembley-arch#:~:text=On%20a%20day%20when%20the,kits%20and%20flags%20into%20Wembley" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stated</a>.</p>



<p>“Emblazoning public buildings with the flag of Israel cannot be taken as a neutral act of sympathy for civilian victims of violence because that should be extended to all civilians who have been killed in the last few days, including those who are under mammoth bombardment at this moment in Gaza.</p>



<p><em><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/10/12/england-australia-minute-silence-wembley-arch-israel-hamas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Telegraph</a></em> reports that the FA is fearful of receiving backlash should they pick a side and light up Wembley in blue and white. Another major factor in their decision revolves around a future friendly. The team’s opponent on Friday, Australia, is playing Palestine in a <a href="https://www.worldsoccertalk.com/world-cup-qualifiers-tv-schedule/">World Cup qualifier</a> in November. The news outlet claims that a final decision on what to do with Wembley’s lights is still pending as well.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / PA Images</em></p>


England denies all Israel and Palestine flags at Wembley

The England Football Association is banning all Israel land Palestine flags inside Wembley Stadium for Friday's match.