Premier League players, managers and supporters will be able to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine at matches taking place this weekend by displaying the flag of the under-siege country in a show of solidarity.
The FA has a clear kit and advertising regulations, which forbid the use of threatening, abusive, indecent, insulting, discriminatory, political or religious messages appearing on clothing, footwear or other equipment on the field of play.
Under FA rules, however, a country’s flag does not fall into that category, meaning players would be free to show their support to Ukraine by holding one aloft.
The FA has worked hard in recent years to help ensure that English football is an open, diverse and inclusive game, and all actions by players or officials to either protest or show support in relation to international events are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
International flags, however, can be displayed without any issues as they are not deemed to be sending a discriminatory, political or religious message.
Everton fans are one of those expected to show their support for Ukraine by unveiling a banner during Saturday’s match against Manchester City.
It comes after their left-back Vitalii Mykolenko, who is from Ukraine, expressed his anger and sadness at the situation back in his home country on social media.
Other Ukrainian players, such as Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko and West Ham’ s Andriy Yarmolenko, have also been vocal on social media in the past 24 hours.
