Roy Hodgson and the England squad have been denied the chance to pay their respects for the lost lives at the Battle of the Somme after the Football Association denied them permission to make the trip from their base.
In Euro 2012 Hodgson took a delegate of players to visit the concentration camp at Auschwitz in Poland and the England manager hoped that he could do the same in this summer's tournament by taking them to the site of the Battle of the Somme to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the battle and pay respects to those who lost their lives during the battle.
The plan originally was for the manager and the players to visit the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing which pays homage to 72,195 British and South African servicemen who died in the famous battle with no known grave. Amongst the number are the names of 37 footballers including former PFA chairman Evelyn Lintott.
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FA chief executive Martin Glenn has approved the trip two month ago however it's now been vetoed by the FA's head of performance services Dave Reddin who believes that the three hour round trip from the base in Chantilly would impact on them negatively and be too draining.
Instead the FA will be represented by Glenn however speaking on a video the players made about the battle, goalkeeper Joe Hart said, "It is important that we never forget what happened or those brave men and women affected by the Battle of the Somme."
On the 100 year anniversary of the Battle the England manager added "This will be a very poignant summer as we look back to a century ago and it of course puts football in perspective."
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The World Cup squad in 2010 came under fire for not visiting Robben Island on their day off whilst in South Africa however they received plaudits for their trip in 2012 and two years later in Brazil they visited a favela.
(h/t The Times)
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