FIFA, which has recently been proved to be one of the most corrupt governing sports bodies in the world, has managed to outrage just about the whole population of Great Britain and several other nations around the world by refusing to allow the English national soccer team to honor its war veterans.

The outcry comes after FIFA has told England their players won’t be able to have poppies sewn into their shirts for their upcoming game against World and European Champions Spain at London’s Wembley Stadium on Nov. 12. The poppy is a symbol of honor and remembrance for all of those who fought and all those who died in the line of duty since the First World War.

In Britain and many Commonwealth countries Nov. 11 is known as Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, or Poppy Day. In America, a similar occasion is known as Veterans Day. World War I ended on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month. In Britain, the second Sunday in November is also used to honor veterans and is known as Remembrance Sunday. Along with holding two minutes of silence on Remembrance Day, most Britons also attach a small red poppy to the left side of their clothing above the heart.

The English Football Association wanted to honor its veterans and educate younger fans about the day by wearing the poppy. However, FIFA told the association that it won’t allow any changes to the team’s official uniform. Numerous charities and war heroes condemned FIFA’s decision on Nov. 4 and reminded the soccer body that it wouldn’t be in existence if it wasn’t for the men and women who fought for freedom.

FIFA said it won’t allow any changes to the uniform as other countries would then want to do the same thing when commemorating special events. Many soccer fans see it nothing more than a childish act by FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who doesn’t like the fact that the English FA often questions the way his organization is run. Some Britons have said the team should defy the ruling and point out that many teams wear black arm bands when commemorating the deaths of certain people. They don’t understand why a poppy can’t be worn on an armband.

FIFA has no power over the English Premier League though and all 20 of its teams are wearing poppies on their sweaters until Remembrance Sunday. Last year the IRB, which is the governing body for world rugby, didn’t have a problem when both the English and Australian national teams honored their Armed Forces by having poppies sewn into their shirts during a game.

The Poppy Appeal started back in 1921 as a way to raise money to support the charity work done by the Royal British Legion and to pay respect to everybody who sacrificed themselves in the fight for freedom. The English team will wear uniforms with poppies on them in training sessions and will then auctioned them off for charity.

To millions of soccer fans around the world it didn’t come as a shock that the man who had the nerve to challenge FIFA boss Sepp Blatter was quickly banned for life for allegedly bribing soccer officials in the Caribbean. It’s sort of like a Mafia godfather executing the punk who’s trying to take over the family business. There’s one exception though, the mob appears to be less corrupt than FIFA these days.

Mohamed bin Hammam recently got kicked out of soccer’s ongoing circus for life after Blatter acted as judge, jury, and executioner in a two-day hearing that Bin Hammam didn’t attend. Bin Hammam called it an act of revenge and he’s got a lot of people believing it. He told the BBC that FIFA is angry somebody stood up to Blatter and the organization and the easiest way to make sure it doesn’t happen again is to just get rid of him.

FIFA announced the ban on July 23 when it said Bin Hammam, who was the Asian Football Confederation president, was guilty of trying to bribe officials when running against Blatter in this year’s FIFA presidential elections. In the end, Blatter’s was the only name on the ballot, as it usually is, and he ran unopposed. A dictatorship if there ever was one.

But Blatter’s backed himself into a corner now since Bin Hammam was a key figure in the tiny Gulf nation of Qatar securing the rights to host the World Cup in 2022. Qatar is Bin Hammam’s homeland. The rest of the world is wondering if the country will be stripped of the World Cup now that Blatter has found his opponent guilty of corruption.

There’s a good chance Bin Hammam is guilty though since corruption runs rampant throughout the soccer world and FIFA. Another top official, Jack Warner was spared an investigation of corruption earlier in the year if he just walked away. He did and everything was swept under the rug by Blatter. In addition, officials Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester have also received life bans from FIFA this year.

But it’s unlikely Bin Hammam will walk away quietly like Warner did. He said he’s going to fight the ban and will clear his name by appealing to Switzerland’s Court of Arbitration for Sport. First he has to appeal to FIFA, which he called nothing more than a kangaroo court, and doesn’t figure to get anywhere with it. He’s depending on the Swiss court to be a better stage to tell his side of the story.

Blatter continues to fight off his own corruption allegations and with fewer potential witnesses left in FIFA to testify against him, it’s possible he may come out of the farce unscathed. He’s losing whatever little credibility he had in the first place on a daily basis as FIFA is constantly subject to damning headlines all over the world.

But the only headline that would make most soccer fans happy these days would read; Blatter Resigns.

After years of running FIFA like a third-world dictatorship, President Sepp Blatter will finally face some official opposition when Mohamed Bin Hammam faces him in the next round of elections on June 1. Bin Hammam, like most soccer fans around the world, claims there hasn’t been any development in the sport and it’s at a standstill due to Blatter’s leadership over the past 13 years.

The 61-year-old Bin Hammam from Qatar used to be one of Blatter’s biggest allies, but he’s now opened his eyes to the way the 75-year-old Blatter has run the game into the ground. The challenger has promised voters that FIFA will become more transparent and accountable and will introduce open voting during for World Cup bidding instead of secret votes. He also said the maximum length of a FIFA presidency should be eight years.

Blatter actually owes a lot to his opponent as Bin Hammam, who is the chairman of the Asian confederation, supported him during bitter election campaigns in both 1998 and 2002. But even though he’s out for his head, Bin Hammam said he doesn’t regret supporting Blatter in the past, but enough’s enough and it’s time for a change.

Bin Hammam admits he’s not going to be the saviour of soccer, but he hasn’t seen any positive changes in the sport over the last few years. He said the only time FIFA is in the news these days is when the soccer organization’s being ripped apart by angry fans and soccer clubs and their executives.

It’ll be hard for Bin Hammam to garner votes from the UEFA countries though as Blatter is in bed with UEFA President Michel Platini and it’s believed Blatter is just trying to hold onto power long enough until Platini takes over FIFA in 2015.

But that could soon change as several UEFA nations such as England are becoming increasingly impatient with Platini and Blatter over their stubbornness over issues such as video replay. Most soccer organizations are all for the introduction of video technology while Blatter and Platini continue to oppose it for some reason.

The English FA is still seething over the recent voting for the upcoming World Cups in 2018 and 2022 that were awarded to Russia and Qatar. The words FIFA and corruption go hand in hand these days and it’s believed England will support anybody other than Blatter and Platini.

In many fans eyes, FIFA can’t sink any lower, especially after two of its members were banned following a sting operation by the British newspaper the Sunday Times. The newspaper caught the FIFA delegates from Nigeria and Tahiti asking for bribes in exchange for their 2018 and 2022 World Cup votes. It would have been easy for the delegates to get away with it as World Cup voting is done in secrecy, meaning nobody knows which countries delegates support who.

It looks like Bin Hammam has the support of millions of fans around the world. But they’d probably support Jack the Ripper if he was running. They just want to see the backside of Blatter and don’t care who replaces him. The problem is, it’s probably not going to happen until Blatter’s carried away in a wooden box.