Northern Ireland players will wear a plain black armband during tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan to mark Armistice Day.

The English and Scottish Football Associations confirmed earlier this week that their players would wear poppies during their Group F encounter tomorrow, despite a FIFA ban.

The game’s laws state players’ equipment should not carry any commercial, personal, political or religious messages and, after talks with football’s governing body, the Irish Football Association have decided to mark the occasion with plain armbands.

There will also be a minute’s silence ahead of the Group C contest at Windsor Park, and the names of players connected with the association who died during World War One will be shown on a big screen, while there will also be a card display featuring a poppy in the West Stand.

Despite the risk of punishment from FIFA, both England and Scotland have planned that players will wear black armbands bearing poppies for the match at Wembley Stadium, with the world governing body’s general secretary, Fatma Samoura, insisting that no exceptions to the law will be made.