Backing the bid: Wilshere and Ferdinand have called on FIFA to change their mind

There will also be poppy-related messages on the perimeter boards as the FA do all they can to recognise the emotive occasion despite FIFA.

The 'final statement' letter to FA chief Alex Horne from Jerome Valcke, secretary general of FIFA, arrived just as Minister of Sport Hugh  Robertson was promising Government backing if the FA were to defy the FIFA mandate.

Robertson said the Zurich football overlords had misunderstood the importance of Remembrance Sunday.

Robertson's own protest letter to world football's discredited governing body reflected the widespread public outrage about FIFA's objections over honouring the Armed Forces who had made the ultimate sacrifice.

England players Ferdinand and Wilshere encouraged the FA to go ahead and display the poppies. Meanwhile Jim Boyce, a member of the FIFA ExCo committee, was asking for a U-turn from Zurich.

Niersbach made a mockery of FIFA's implied concern about German offence surrounding the poppy being worn against them in future November fixtures around Armistice Day.

Robertson wrote: 'We fully understand and respect FIFA's rules on its member nations not adorning their shirts with commercial, political or religious symbols or messages. The FA do not intend to contravene these rules.

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