FIFA are believed to have banned England from wearing poppies at Wembley to prevent the side from offending Germany in future fixtures.

It emerged on Saturday that Fabio Capello's men would not commemorate Remembrance Sunday with a poppy on their shirts when they face Spain this weekend.

But a FIFA source told Sportsmail: "What would happen if England played Germany around the time of Remembrance Sunday, for example?

"The international aspect of the regulations gets overlooked when people want to feel it's England against FIFA.

"But the rules are there in case political inference could potentially be far more provocative."

While poppies are not permitted, the governing body have allowed a minute's silence to be carried out before the match to remember the British armed forces.