Seven different national sides (Wales, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Holland and Switzerland, and England) would be wearing the OneLove armbands, at least the captain of each team in any case.
The FA released a statement just hours before England v Iran, saying reluctantly they have bowed to pressure from FIFA.
This has followed widespread reporting that FIFA were going to ensure anybody wearing OneLove armbands would be booked before the match even kicked off.
The FA statement:
‘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 is unprecedented – we wrote to FIFA in September informing them of our wish to wear the OneLove armbands 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.’
Source: The FA