Piers slammed the FA for backing down on armband decision (Picture: TALKTV)

Piers Morgan has criticised the England football team for scrapping wearing the OneLove armbands at the 2022 Qatar World Cup after FIFA threatened to impose sporting sanctions.

The former Good Morning Britain host took to Twitter to share his outrage at the -u-turn, slamming the FA for bowing down to the organising body’s demands.

Ahead of the tournament that kicks off in Qatar, a nation that punishes members of the LGBTQ+ community, captains planned to don armbands in support of diversity and inclusion.

However, following threats of sanctions from FIFA, a joint statement from seven nations, including England, backtracked on the idea citing they couldn’t risk putting players ‘in a position where they could face sporting sanctions’.

Instead, captains such as Harry Kane will wear a No Discrimination armband throughout the tournament as a compromise.

Furious at the news, Piers couldn’t help but make his feelings around this development known.

Harry Kane was set to wear the OneLove armband during their opening match against Iran (Picture: PA)

The host of Piers Morgan Uncensored typed out scathing comments directed at the FA, claiming the move to be ‘ridiculous’.

He wrote above a picture of Kane in the original armband: ‘Ridiculous that England made such a fuss about wearing virtue-signalling armbands at this World Cup.

‘Even more ridiculous they’ve now been bullied into not wearing them.

‘If you’re going to virtue-signal, at least have the guts to stick to your supposed principles.’

In a separate tweet, the controversial figure carried on: ‘I’m not gay, but if I was, I’d be absolutely furious about this FA armband U-turn.

The outspoken broadcaster was disgusted at the move and let his followers know (Picture: Vianney Le Caer/Piers Morgan Uncensored/REX/Shutterstock)

‘Makes an absolute mockery of the whole ‘we’re going to speak out about human rights in Qatar rather than boycott it’ stance [sic].’

In the joint statement released by the seven football associations, the governing bodies outlined the punishment for teams that refuse to abide by FIFA’s strict rules.

‘We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband.

‘However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.

‘Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways.’

England are set to begin their World Cup campaign on Monday 21 November at one o’clock against Iran in Group B.

Metro.co.uk contacted reps of England manager, Gareth Southgate for comment.  

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‘Makes an absolute mockery.’