United now one of only three clubs refusing to display red poppy on shirt.

Nick 0208 Ldn

November 03, 2009

MANCHESTER United are one of eight clubs in the Premier League who have not yet asked for permission to embroider a poppy into their shirt for this weekend's Premier League match with Chelsea.

Birmingham wore a shirt with a poppy on against City at the weekend, and then auctioned the strip off in aid of the British Legion.

A United spokesman told the Daily Mail: "We don't think it's particularly necessary. We sell poppies around the ground and all our officials wear them and we work with the Armed Forces charities in a lot of other ways throughout the year."

United are not helped by the fact their shirt is red.

United not planning to put poppy on shirt - Manchester United - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...**-heroes.html



As of this morning we stand in even sparser company than the above article, it is now only ourselves, Liverpool, and Bolton.

What does the Caf make fo the situation?

Keano1999

For an opposing view on the Daily Mirror's campaign:

Spare us the phoney poppy apoplexy | Marina Hyde | Football | guardian.co.uk

With a tedious inevitability, the Daily Mail's campaign to divide the whole of Britain into people who wear poppies and people who are subhuman scumbags has reached the Premier League. But then, based on that taxonomy, where else was it ever going to end up?

Nick 0208 Ldn

We could put it on the chevron and then there's no difficulty of colour clash as suggested in the MEN piece.

032Devil

Untold tens of thousands of deaths (murders) have been caused by the Allies in Afghanistan. How much of the money made from poppy sales will go to the families of the victims?

Ramshock

politics and football should not mix

Moriarty

Agreed. How about the Daily Mail printing a swastika on its masthead to remind us all of how much it applauded Hitler in the 1930s. If anything, we ought to wear a white poppy like my grandma did.

Anna_Livia

'Poppy fascism' sounds about right. It should be an individual choice and not something that anyone ought to feel shamed into doing.

Anyone ever read Catch 22? It's like the Great Big Loyalty Oath Crusade. I fucking hate the Daily Mail.

manxmanc

Fuck off

SecondFig

Would be my preferred choice.

Was just thinking that when I read Hyde's piece this morning, so who's going to come in and say "Give everybody eat" and end it?

Feed Me

This is football, not politics. There is no need for any club to have a poppy on their shirt. The minute silence and black armband will suffice.
It's just tokenism.

Tibs

Bollocks to the Daily Mail.

We are a football club, not a political party.

Ban Daily Mail reporters from press conferences Fergie

Doogie

Precisely.

topper

pratt

Feed Me

"Manchester United Forum"

Not the

"Get on your soapbox forum"

penfold52

So why dont you jump on a plane to Kabul with a box full of poppies and start selling them there.

I wear my poppy with pride.

devilish

Afghanistan don't need poppies. They have natural ones.

penfold52

Then he can go and pick his own.....

Maroon Lucifer

I agree with this, although in this case I don't think the club would make a political statement as much as a publicity stunt. Maybe it's just me but I cringe a bit when persons or their companies put their names on a charity, when they just as well could have helped out anonymously. That's just me, but maybe the ends justify the means. I just find that kind of Public Relations in a little bad taste.

Tribec

Whilst I'll happily wear my poppy with pride for those fallen, I can't say I'm happy with the idea of them being sewn onto the shirts even as a one off. The poppy symbol has become very political over the last few years, and mixing it that with sport will only cause more problems.

We'll end up with other charities asking for the same thing and every week we'll find some charity symbol on the shirt. Can you see the Daily Mail launching a campaign for all the clubs to have a red ribbon sewn on the shirts on the closest day to Dec 1st (World Aids Day)? The answer is no, but someone else might do so. How would you like pink versions of team shirts whilst supporting breast cancer charities?

However, something that started in North America and I'm not sure where exactly, but a designated game season perhaps the one closest to Nov 11th should become tickets for servicemen, where by those attending let the club know they are willing to let any serviceman use there ticket for said match. It would be interesting to see how many match goings forum members would give the tickets back for this sort of scheme.

R_Nick

Daily Mail in preaching bollocks shocker.

As other people have said its football not politics, and the club do an awful lot of good work for and with charities including the armed forces. Why should they be bullied into a Page Ranking stunt when they actually make effort all the time rather than the one time a year the Daily Fail decides everybody should do what they say?

I wear a poppy every year without fail, but I don't stop people in the street and try and shame other people into it. Everyone who contributes to that 'newspaper' should be banned from life.

RedSky At Night

Exactly.

sully07

I would have to say this is the most vile post I have read on the Caf, I hope you are young and can use that as an excuse.

gambit28

Ferguson was wearing the poppy the other night, why the fuss?

Scholesgoals

oh god i hate people so much sometimes.

Brophs

It all reminds me of those 'voluntary contributions' in school that they used to pester people for.

STH122

Thats a little strong.

I’m from a country where there isn’t a strong military history; I’m appalled by the deaths of not only the soldiers fighting the war against terror but also the countless civilian deaths
Iraq Body Count

Although you could no doubt argue eloquently, that if not for the allies in WW2 I’d be posting this in German, I don’t have a great affinity for armed forces in general.
I understand the poppy campaign for the Royal British Legion provides valuable and badly needed funds for both ex and current soldiers and their families. However, It’s not difficult for some to link the humanitarian atrocities of war with the poppy. However tenuous you may personally find the link.

amolbhatia100

I don't see what's so wrong with this post. Sadly far too many inncent lives have been destroyed due to this brilliant war on terror. And it's badly achieved much.

theimperialinn

Shut up you bellend.

Say that to the families of the 5 lads that were shot the other day by a Taliban posing as a trainee security officer.

Lynott

The fact that these things are being forced on people is a disgrace. Just wtch the TV, vereyone is wearing them and there is no way it is by choice.

Guillet and Salgado were wearing them the other night. Why would they be supporting the British Legion? Maybe they were dupped ,as I was for a time, into thinking it was for the fallen in the two World Wars. I would wear it religiously if that was the case. My grandfather fought with the British in WWII. But for ex service men now, no way, alot of whom would have served in Northern Ireland.

For all of you preaching about being proud to wear your poppy, I am sure you are and you have that choice but where is the charity for the family of the victims of British soldiers over the centuries?

theimperialinn

Collateral damage, the end result is more important. I don't see what's wrong with the club sticking the poppy on the shirt myself. My grandad fought in the war and I'd wear mine with pride. Our sense of nationalism and pride is being taken apart bit by bit.

amolbhatia100

Lives of innocent Afghani and Iraqis have also been taken due to this war. Tell this story to them. They won't care either. His point was just to shift some of the focus to remind everyone that there are others who have suffered, possbily more, because of this war, than the allied forces.

theimperialinn

See my prior post.

How many innocent Afghans and Iraqis have been taken out by their own people? We are trying to clean the place up and give them freedom.

The main point is to remember the British lives and United is a British club.

amolbhatia100

Collateral damage. Nice. Makes the lives of innocent people with lives of their own sound almost irrelevant. The armed forces of the allies though, who are actually waged the war, have all the sympathy with them.

Lynott

Jesus Christ. Please tell me you are not that stupid.

This should probably be moved to Current Affairs forum.

Flying Fox

Sweet fucking Jesus.

So where would you draw the line then, if such a line were to be drawn?

theimperialinn

I will always support our forces. I wasn't the one that made the ridiculous statement on a forum dedictated to a British football team. What do you expect? He was probably stood in the way of one of our homecoming parades with a 'Butchers of Basra' placard.

amolbhatia100

That's all well and good but waging wars on every country that has a terrorist element is not the answer. If that was the case, then the world would be attacking Pakistan too. The war has achieved very little and with every war, the battle ground simply shifts.

See, I don't have anything against either side. I sympathize with the British/ America/ Any other armed forces lost in this or any other war, but at the same time feel the same way for the civillians lost in these wars. Maybe even more so because these people never signed on for a battle. They never wanted to pick up a gun yet were shot or bombed.

On the United issue, I don't see it as necessary. I know it's for a good cause but there's no need for an overkill. There are a million causes out there that money needs to be raised for. If we had a symbol for everyone we'd have a shirt full of these things. There are lives lost for other reasons too, and more.

theimperialinn

You can't fight a war without killing innocent people. That obvious and people call me stupid. Yes it's sad but the poster in question basically called our troops murderers. I was never going to give him a pat on the back.

theimperialinn

WW2 is a big deal for a lot of people in the UK with their grandfathers and great grandfathers fighting in it. Of course a big deal will be made over the poppy appeal.

R_Nick

This thread was inevitably going to end up with this debate; could probably do with being moved to the CE forum.