Arsenal Women’s star Katie McCabe has elicited mixed reactions online after she refused to wear a poppy on her shirt. Arsenal Women’s players before their game against Chelsea. Photo credit: Katie McCabe. Source: Instagram Why do English teams wear poppies? A poppy is a red flower pin that players based in England wear in November to remember the British soldiers who died in the First World War. It became a unifying symbol of remembrance and commemoration of the soldiers who gave their lives between 1914 and 1918. The red flower was chosen because it grew in abundance where the soldiers fought, as reported by GOAL.
However, the significance of the poppy has since been expanded to honour all British soldiers who served worldwide. The tradition in the Premier League started in 2012, when teams had the poppy sewn on their shirts in the games leading up to Remembrance Day on November 11. Why Katie McCabe refused to wear poppy? McCabe caused a stir online when she declined to wear the poppy during Arsenal’s last two Women’s Super League matches. While she is yet to publicly speak on the issue, the reason is believed to come from her national allegiances. Bloody Sunday McCabe, who is the captain of the Irish women’s team, comes from a country where ‘Bloody Sunday’ occurred in 1972. British soldiers shot 26 unarmed civilians in Northern Ireland. Irish players and citizens, therefore, do not associate with the British military for political reasons.
McCabe, however, observed a minute of silence alongside her teammates before the games against Leicester City and Chelsea over the weekend. READ ALSO Sunderland coach admits they used special tactic to hurt Arsenal after brilliant draw Other Irish players who didn’t wear poppies include Brighton’s Caitlin Hayes, Crystal Palace’s Abbie Larkin and London City Lionesses midfielder Hayley Nolan. Katie McCabe in action for Arsenal Women’s against Chelsea. Fans react to McCabe refusing to wear poppy Online, there were mixed reactions with That One Woso Fan saying, “Not sure why people have such an issue with Katie McCabe not wearing a poppy, from what I’ve seen, all the Irish girls didn’t wear one/the armband. We should be praising them for standing with their beliefs and not succumbing to society’s norms of wearing one that goes against their country’s history.” Travel26 said, “Katie McCabe without the poppy today- hope other Irish women follow suit! Brave but a needed stance with everything that’s gone on recently.” While Maisie said, “For context, I’m a proud poppy wearer. To me, the poppy is a remembrance of lives lost in war & conflict, but I respect that people find other meanings and perspectives though.”
By Martin Moses
