ENGLAND WILL wear poppies on their black armbands in Saturday’s friendly against Spain at Wembley after Prince William, the president of the English Football Association, and David Cameron, the British prime minister, intervened in the row by writing to the world governing body to voice their disquiet.

Fifa stood by its refusal to grant an FA request that poppies be worn on England’s shirt but agreed a compromise that ensures the remembrance symbol will be visible on the players’ kit.

The move, which is understood to have been made after discussions involving Alex Horne, the FA’s general secretary, and his Fifa counterpart, Jerome Valcke, was welcomed by the FA.

“The FA can confirm that Fifa has today agreed that the England team will now be permitted to wear a poppy on the black armbands the players will wear during Saturday’s match with Spain,” a statement said.

“While continuing to adhere to the laws of the game, wearing the poppy on the armband does ensure the poppy will be visible throughout the game.

“The FA welcomes Fifa’s decision and thanks them for agreeing to this.”

Fifa’s decision came at the end of a day on which the dispute had escalated. Cameron said he would support the England team if they defied Fifa by wearing poppies on their shirts; Prince William described the poppy as “a universal symbol of remembrance“; and two members of the far-right English Defence League occupied the roof of the world governing body’s headquarters in Zurich to protest.

There was some opposition to the armband compromise within Fifa after the EDL’s rooftop occupation, a move also uncomfortable for the FA given the organisation’s political leanings.

The protesters were taken away in a police van.

Fifa’s reasoning for turning down the FA’s request to have the poppies on the kit was that it would “open the door to similar initiatives” across the world, while “jeopardising the neutrality of football”.