England, Wales and other European nations will not wear the OneLove armband at the World Cup in Qatar because of the threat of players being booked.
The captains of nine nations, including England’s Harry Kane and Gareth Bale of Wales, had planned to wear the armband to promote diversity and inclusion.
A joint statement from seven Football Associations said they could not put their players “in a position where they could face sporting sanctions”.
“We are very frustrated by the Fifa decision which we believe is unprecedented,” the statement read.
The governing bodies said they had written to Fifa in September informing them about the OneLove armband but not received a response.
“Fifa has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play,” the statement added.
“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.”
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