McClean has decided against wearing the poppy due to the fact that the symbol represents and pays tribute to military personnel who have perished in the war – and not only soldiers who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. Republic of Ireland footballer James McClean was born and raised in the city of Derry in Northern Ireland and was brought up on Creggan estate, where six of the people killed on Bloody Sunday in 1972 came from.īloody Sunday was one of the most historically significant events of The Troubles conflict in the country, when British soldiers shot 28 unarmed civilians during a peaceful protest march. Why do some footballers choose not to wear a poppy?Ĭertain footballers choose not to wear poppies due to their national allegiances. The special shirts are then auctioned as part of the annual Poppy Appeal organised by The Royal British Legion. The red flower of the poppy was specifically selected as a reference to the battlefields where the red flowers grew in abundance.
Since 2012, each Premier League club have had poppies sewn into their shirts during the month of November in the lead-up to Remembrance Day (November 11). In the aftermath following the First World War, the poppy flower became a unifying symbol of remembrance and commemoration of the soldiers who gave up their lives and filled the war zones of Northern Europe while representing their country between 19.
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