Wembley arch to be lit only for football and entertainment under new FA policy
- Published
Wembley's arch has been lit on various occasions, including in 2021 to mark the National Day of Reflection for those who died during the Covid pandemic
Wembley's arch will only be lit for football and entertainment under a new Football Association policy.
The decision follows criticism when the arch was not lit in the colours of the Israel flag after attacks by Hamas in which 1,200 people were killed.
Israel responded to the attacks with a military campaign during which Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 14,000 people have been killed.
A period of silence was held at Wembley for "innocent victims" of the conflict.
That preceded England's friendly against Australia on 13 October.
There had been calls for the arch to be lit after the attacks by Hamas during which 240 people were also taken hostage.
The decision not to do so was described as "disappointing" by the UK government, and Rabbi Alex Goldberg resigned from an FA faith in football group.
FA senior officials were known to be wary of a perception they might be taking sides on the issue, and insisted they acted on "expert advice".
But they later accepted the episode had caused hurt to the Jewish community, describing it as "one of the hardest decisions" they had ever had to make.
Now, as first reported by the Telegraph,, external the FA will restrict the lighting of the arch to far fewer occasions, in recognition of the fact it is a football and entertainment venue, rather than a political one.
The FA will still support a number of diversity and equality causes and campaigns, but will not illuminate the arch for them. It will be lit when Wembley is hosting matches or concerts for instance, but not when there are natural disasters or tragedies, as in the past.
Previously, the FA has lit up the arch to commemorate events including Remembrance Day and International Women's Day or to pay tribute to victims of the war in Ukraine or of terror attacks such as in Paris in 2015.
But it is understood it felt it had little choice but to change its approach.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said last month the controversy "made us question whether we should light the arch and when, and we'll be reviewing that".
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