England players should make a stand against Russia at World Cup by wearing black armbands - Labour MP

England's players should make a political stand against Russia by wearing black armbands during the World Cup, Labour MP Stephen Kinnock has said.

Mr Kinnock advocated stripping Russia of the tournament and postponing it for a year during a parliamentary debate in March, held following the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter on the streets of Salisbury.

But with the tournament set to proceed as planned he believes the onus now falls on the Three Lions to protest against the policies of the Vladimir Putin regime.

Mr Kinnock knows the country well, having lived and worked there as director of the British Council between 2005 and 2008, and is concerned about how England's silent participation in the event would be perceived.

“Maybe we should seriously consider wearing a black armband in our first match, or in all of our matches, to mark the death of Alexander Litvinenko, the attack on Mr Skripal and his daughter on British territory and the vicious injury to a member of our police force,” he said.

Mr Litvinenko worked for both the Russian and British security services and was assassinated in London 10 years ago.

Russia has denied involvement in the poisoning of the Skripals and Mr Litvineko.

Mr Kinnock lived and worked in Russia as director of the British Council there between 2005 and 2008. He thinks that the England football team could “send a really big political signal.”

“We are using the beautiful game to launder the reputation of a dangerous authoritarian regime and that poses some major questions. We should think creatively about what we might be able to do to send a message,” he said.

"I suspect every single member of the English football team has more Twitter followers than any politician we have so they can send a really big political signal. They are role models to our young people and I do think this is an issue of our morals, our values and our ethics.

He added: "It would great if they were able to say 'we're here in Russia now, but what's happened on the streets of the United Kingdom raises concerns for all of us. An attack on one is an attack on all'."

Any stand by England would be in contravention of FIFA's rules against players wearing political, religious or commercial symbols.

Mr Kinnock said: "It would need to be supported by the FA and they would probably be sanctioned by FIFA, who don't like any symbolism, but at some point we've got to make a decision about the role and responsibility of football in the world," he said.

However Mr Kinnock’s words are unlikely to be matched by actions on the field with manager Gareth Southgate declaring in March he held “little interest” in foreign secretary Boris Johnson’s thoughts on the world cup. - Evening Standard